Witch Hazel; or, The Secret of the Locket — page 301: what you’re looking at

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

“That was my maiden naine,” she replied, ‘and that necklace was a wedding gift from my father. I went with him to select it, as he had told. me that I could choose for myself what I liked best. There were two in the establishment exactly alike, with this exception —thatone had asmalilockel underneath one of the jew- eled links; but it was so skillfully concealed that no one could discover it, or the spring that fastened if, unless the secret was tirst explained. My father pur- chased this one, and had it warked with my name and the date of my marriage. Two years later I had the picture of my baby girl inserted in the locket.” Mrs. Earlescourt paused here, as if overcome b some painful remembrance, while Hazel, her beauti- ful eyes fixed hungrily upon the speaker, her face as colorless as alabaster, involuntarily reached out her arms as if she longed to embrace her, and every in- dividual inthe room waited breathlessly for what Should follow. “Three years afterward, in May,’ pursued Mrs, Earlescourt, ‘I was obliged to come abroad—my home was in America—with my invalid mother; her physician said that she must have an immediate change of climate, or she could not live three months, and, as there was no one else tocome With her, I was forced to leave my family and accompany her. She is present here to-day, and will add her testimony to mine if it is thought necessary,” she interposed, glancing toward the rear of the room. “She amnroved rapidly,” she resumed, turning again tothe judge; ‘in two months she was nearly as well as ever, and we then decided to travel a year orso in Europe, my husband promising to join us and brig our we daughter w Aq him, sometime in ovember, when we proposed to 0. fa aly to spend the winter. I did not expect ESUNTT LoCo