The Argosy — page 192: what you’re looking at

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

178 Edina. lighted side room, and turned back to see to the luggage ; leaving her utterly aghast, bewildered, and standing as still as a statue. The door at the end of the room opened and a curious old figure, attired in a chintz gown of antique shape, with a huge bow of green ribbon on her round cap, appeared at it. Eve curtsied to her new mistress : the new mistress stared at the servant. “You are welcome to your home, ma’am. We are glad to see you. And, please, would you.like the supper tray brought in?” “Is—is this Mr. Raynor's?” questioned Daisy, in a tone that seemed to say she dreaded the answer. ‘Sure enough it is, ma’am, for the present. He is here during the master’s absence.” Daisy said no more. She only stood still in her grievous astonish- ment, striving to comprehend it all, and to hush her dismayed heart. The luggage was being brought indoors with sundry bumps, and Eve went to help with it. Frank found his wife seated on the horsehair sofa, when he came in; and he caught the blank look on her pale face. “You are tired, Daisy. You would like to take your things off. Come upstairs, and I will show you your bed-room.” Lighting a candle, he led the way, Daisy following him mechanically up the steep and confined staircase, to which she herself seemed to present a contrast, with her supremely fashionable attire: costly black gauze, relieved by frillings of soft white net. “The room’s not very large, Daisy,” he said, entering one on the first floor, the window looking out on some back leads. “ There’s a larger one in front on the upper landing, but I thought you would ' prefer this, and it is better furnished. It was Brown’s room. He said I had better take to it, for if I went up higher I might not hear the night bell.” “Yes,” replied Daisy faintly, untying the strings of her bonnet. “Was it a—a shop we came through ?” “That was the surgery. It used to be a shop, and Brown never took the trouble to alter its appearance.” ‘« Have you always to come through it on entering the house ?” “Yes. There is no other entrance. The houses in these crowded places are confined for space, you see, Daisy. I will help Sam to bring up the boxes,” added Frank, disappearing. When finally left to herself, Margaret sat down and burst into a passionate flood of tears. It seemed to her that, in coming to dwell in this place, she must lose caste for ever. Frank called to her pre- sently, to know whether she was not coming down. Drying her eyes as she best could, she took the candle in her hand to descend. On the opposite side of the small landing, a door stood open to a sitting-room, and she looked in. A fair-sized room this, for it was over. both the surgery and the parlour, anda very: nice room comicbooks.com