Vashti's Fate — page 82: what you’re looking at

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

Pert oa x ee gh * wl ke 1 aaa eke ae SEED SOWN IN GOOD GROUND. 77 bay window. Won by the charmed conversation, however, she came gradually out of herself, and talked only as Vashti could, on subjects beyond the range of most children of her age. A graceful, and even brilliant chat it was, with Leon exercising his peculiar faculty for drawing out, till Vashti scarcely knew herself. The afternoon passed more pleasantly than the morning had, and toward night Miss Dale came, greatly to Vashti’s delight, pretending that she was just this day from home, and had traveled through the inclement weather, so anxious was she to get back to dear Everleigh and the darling chil- dren. She covered Vashti with kisses, and would have done the same to Nora if she could have got beyond the cool tips of that young lady’s fingers. Shook hands with and kissed Frank, declaring that he had grown a full inch while she had been gone; was charmingly deferential to Mr. Leon Brownlee, as introduced by Vashti; and having secured one of the most comfortable chairs in the room, proved to be in wonderfully fine spirits, Leon thought, for a lady who had traveled all day. From the instant of her arrival she completely engrossed Vashti, and the pleasant little party seemed somehow quite brokenup. In some indescribable way, Miss Dale monop- olized them all, while at the same time, at least two, were not pleased with the proceeding. To Leon, Miss Dale’s vivacious style of usurping the con- versation of the room, was unmitigated rudeness. ‘‘Why didn’t you take her down from her heights ” laughed Nora the next day. ‘‘You ought to see Aunt Margery doit. Aunt Margery can shut her up in a minute. She never has to look at her but once, and the dear woman is mum from that instant.” D> comicbooks:com —