Vashti's Fate — page 136: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A NEW WARDROBE. 131 ‘‘Don’t undertake anything you can’t do, by any means. But I know what you can do, quite as well as you do, and I shall have my eyes on you.” They entered the parlor. It was yet early—earlier than Vashti had supposed. ‘The pupils were all there, and most of the teachers, but no guests had yet arrived. Vashti got. a seat in as retired a corner as possible, and wondered if she was really herself, as she stole sly looks at her amber dra- peries, and slippered foot. She was not left long in the ob- scurity she had chosen, however. ‘The tide of popularity that had set in, received additional impetus at sight of her gorgeousness. Half a dozen girls on either hand, forced her into the center of the room, to be admired. As she at last suc- ceeded in disengaging herself from them, covered with blushes and confusion, she encountered Professor Thorpe, ushering in a party of ladies and gentlemen. He bowed slightly, with that droll smile of his, and sent her to a seat, in a perfect flutter of embarrassment. ‘“How he will tease me!” she said to herself with a sigh. The party took their seats a little way from her, and when she had sufficiently recovered her presence of mind to glance that way, Professor Thorpe seemed in close conversa- tion with a lady whom Vashti pronounced the most beauti- ful she had ever seen. Professor Thorpe himself was tall, rather above the medium height, straight for a student, with rather plain, but not homely features, what we call a square face, straight, dark hair, thrown carelessly back from his ample forehead, which projected slightly over a pair of © deepest azure eyes. The lady was sufficiently good-looking, fair-complexioned, with curls about her face, a little red in her cheeks and lips, a great deal of blue in her eyes, and evidently by the OS Eer aerate comicbooks co mn