Weaker than a Woman — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

86 _ WEAKER THAN A WOMAN. your life, and lose the glory of your beauty, in a helpless struggle to make both ends meet; and you die before your time, your beauty faded and gone, worn out—even in the prime of life. I say that it isacrying shame for such a marriage to take place. You see the difference, Violet 2” “Yes, I see it, Sir Owen; but—” : “Then,” he interrupted, “we will not talk about it to- day ; you shall think it well over—you will be of my opin- ion soon. Now we will go back again—and you will not forget the view from Larch Hill? The first moment I saw you, | meant to win you, Violet. I swore to myself that you should be mine. You have promised me the first dance to-night, remember.” He talked to her on indifferent matters as they descended the hill; then he said: | “ Violet—you see that I cannot call you ‘Miss Haye’—try to drive that scared look from your face; my guests wiil think I have been frightening you.” 7 She made a great effort to bring back the smiles and brightness to her face, but she did not succeed very well; the world was all changed for her since she had gone up Larch Hull, quite changed. There she had been calm, content, with just a shadow of longing for the grandeur around, yet happy in her lover and her love. Now she had been through a scathing temptation—one that had left her heart burning and her brain whirling; there could never be calm content for her again. As her eyes wandered over the various beauties of nature and art surrounding her, she thought to herself : “ All this might be mine—I might be Lady Chevenix and give grand entertainments here—I might be mistress of 0 ig : Sir Owen said no more to her, but he redoubled his at- tentions, and people began to make pretty free comments about the matter. “ Hehx Lonsdale will lose his fiancee if he does not mind,” remarked Captain Hill, “and I shall be sorry for it.” “I believe, Lavinia,” said Lady Rolfe, with an air of dis-. may, “Sir Owen is so infatuated that he will marry the girl after all—he will, indeed.” Francis Haye and his wife looked on in seemingly calm unconcern. Violet found herself the center of attraction to all the men; one wanted her as a partner at croquet, another wanted her for lawn-tennis, a third craved permission to row her across the lake, | comicbooks.com — < eee hey a).