Penny Blood Serial Fiction — page 293: what you’re looking at

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

276 THE COURT OF LONDON pocketbook — tell Juha— Oh! I am going — My God! mercy — mercy — Hannah — Julia — Oh! pardon — mercy —pardon!’ And then he expired.” “Ah! he was touched with remorse on his death-bed,” observed Julia, a slight humidity appearing upon her eye- lashes; but, hastily wiping it away, she added, ‘‘ He was neither a good brother nor a good father; and I suppose that the way in which he had behaved to his sister, and the manner in which he brought me up, troubled him at last. I was a baby when my mother died; and my father neglected me altogether. .When I was able to run alone, I was allowed to paddle about in the gutter from morning to night; and all the education I ever. had was got at a charity school.” “But you speak very well, my dear, considering that you had so little instruction in your infancy,” said Page, chucking her under the chin. “Oh, I was fond of reading once — and then, my father was a very well-educated man, and it was impossible not to glean something from him; for of late years — since we settled in that court where he died — he always wanted me to be with him as much as possible. He dishked to be alone.”’ “You think that his conscience was troubled, Julia? ” said Page, inquiringly. ‘“T am sure it was,’ responded the young woman, em- phatically. ‘ But it’s not worth while for me to have any particular secrets from you now, since we are one, as the saying is; and therefore I’ll tell you a great many curious things about my father, and-.also about the matters which some of the papers in that pocketbook refer to.” “ Just what I want! ’’ exclaimed Page, drawing his chair still closer to the one which his wife occupied. “ It is snow- ing fast,’ he continued, glancing over his shoulder at the window, “and we will have a comfortable chat together for an hour or two. If it clears up presently, I will take you out shopping; and then we can have a nice little dinner ) at_ a tavern But all this is on condition that you speak unreservedly, and tell me everything you know. Besides, © it will be to your advantage as well as mine, for we may make money by these papers.’’ “So much the better,’ observed Julia. ‘“‘ In the first Eomichbooks (E(@) mn