The Widowed Bride — page 91: what you’re looking at

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

82 ‘THE WIDOWED BRIDE. planned to keep you here a little longer, Alice; the younger girls are very fond of you, and——” ; ‘‘Why should you seek to spare me longer from the rough contact with the world, to which | must eventually come; sooner or later, Miss Hartford?” asked Alice, almost mourn- fully. ‘‘I have my own living to earn—my own bread to get. You are very kind to me; been almost too kind, I think, for it would spoil me to be long petted and indulged, as | have been here. But I cannot remain at Hartford Lodge always, and it is better for me to take some such situ- ation as this, where the pupils are young, and the. duties compararively light and easy, by way of testing my powers as an instructress of youth. Will you please ask the Rey- erend Mr. Eskett if he will give me a trial?” ‘I shall ask no such question, my dear,” said Miss Hart- ford, nodding her head, emphatically. ‘‘Ralph Eskett has written to me, asking me to select a governess for him. If I select you, it follows, as a natural sequence, that he will be glad and happy to give you the trial, and no further questions need to be asked. I will scratch out Rena’s name in my letter, and insert yours; that will obviate the neces- sity of rewriting it. J can recommend you quite as cheer- fully and sincerely as I could your sister, who occurred to me as the elder, and consequently, most likely to desire the situation,” 3 | She kissed Alice’s cheek as she spoke. — Rena nestled close to her, with a winning pretense of loy- ing jealousy. ‘‘You are not angry with me, Miss Hartford?” ‘“‘Not angry, dear; only grieved that you should be so blind to your own interests,” the old lady answered, stroking down the bright hair beneath her touch. ‘‘I think Alice has chosen wisely; as far as your choice, time only can deter- mine whether it be for well or ill.” And the two sisters went back to their own rooms, feeling vaguely that they had already caught a ghmpse of the great, far-off, misty future that lay beyond the walls of their school-room. comicbooks:co