Vashti's Fate — page 56: what you’re looking at

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

tall nal ard - oo ae! a ae ft} wer Fr > a y ay ye» ie +e me Sel , 3 '* 4 a a ~7 4 Pt a a : . be® oe, 2 % or ws - BY: af _ , - n wm + Fa x =< - ’ 4 ” by e . ~*~ ‘ . 7 , eis .- GOSSIP—EVERLEIGH ANTECEDENTS. 51 last word, and Vashti, covering her ears with her hands, fled to the house, crying, ‘‘It’s-not true; it’s not true. Oh ! it’s not true ;” while Margery, dropping on her knees among the rose-bushes, seemed to pray. Later, late in the night, Margery Gresham came softly into Vashti’s room, shading the lamp she carried with her hand. The girl’s dark, beautiful face had a weary look, and her slender arms were tossed above her head in her restless slumber. Margery Gresham's stately head bent but a moment, and as she kissed the brow of the sleeper, Vashti's eyes flashed wide open upon her. ‘‘I would give my life for thee, child, if it would avail,” dropped involun- tarily from Margery’s lips, and shading the light again, she vanished from the room ere the girl was fairly awake, so swiftly and noiselessly, that Vashti, falling immediately away into the arms of slumber, fancied in the morning that she had had a dream, and said to Mrs. Everleigh, who was sitting propped up with pillows in bed: ‘‘I dreamed, mamma, that Aunt Margery kissed me, and said she would be willing to die for me.” ‘“‘I believe she would, dear; you don’t half know your Aunt Margery.” CHAPTER VI. GOSSIP—EVERLEIGH ANTECEDENTS. Miss Dale, for whose coming. Vashti was so anxious, was a sort of maid to the two girls, Vashti and Nora. She attended to all the minor points of their supervision, such as Mrs. Everleigh’s invalid life unfitted her for, and Miss Margery did not deign to meddle with. Geom __) Ebooks EO m