The Argosy — page 293: what you’re looking at

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

Anne, 277 did not appear, and Miss Dinah Lake took the head of the table. It happened more often than not that Mrs. Lake was in the kitchen, superintending the dishing-up of the dinner and seeing to the ragouts and sauces ; especially upon the advent of fresh inmates, when the fare would be unusually plentiful. Mrs. Lake often said she was a “born cook,” which was lucky, as she could not afford to keep first- rate servants. Miss Dinah sat at the head of the table, in a rustling green gown and primrose satin cap. Having an income of her own she could afford to dress. (Mrs. Lake’s best gown was black silk, thin and scanty.) Next to Miss Dinah sat a fair, plump little woman, with round green eyes and a soft voice: at any rate, a soft way of speaking: who was introduced to us as Mrs. Captain Podd. She in turn introduced her daughters, Miss Podd and Miss Fanny Podd: both fair like their mother, and with the same kind of round green eyes. A Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell completed the company ; two silent people who seemed to do nothing but eat. Dr. Lewis sat by Mrs. Captain Podd: and very pleasant and attentive the doctor found her. He was shy as well as helpless; but she talked to him freely in her low soft voice and put him altogether at his ease. My place chanced to be next to Miss Fanny Podd’s ; and she began at once to put me at my ease, as her mother was putting the doctor. “You are a stranger here, at the dinner table,” observed Miss Fanny; “but we shall be good friends presently. People in this house soon become sociable.” “T am glad of that.” “I did not quite hear your name. Did you catch mine ?—Fanny Podd.” “Ves, Thank you. Mine is Ludlow.” “<I suppose you never were at Worcester before?” .“Oh, I know Worcester very well indeed. I live in Worcestershire.” “Why!” cried the young lady, neglecting her soup to stare at me, “we heard you had just come over from living in France. Miss Dinah said so—that old guy at the top, yonder.” ‘“Dr. and Miss Lewis have just come from France. Not I. I know Miss Dinah Lake very well.” “Do you! Don’t go and tell her I called her an old guy. Mamma wants to keep in with Miss Dinah, or she might be disagreeable. What a stupid town Worcester is !” “ Perhaps you don’t know many people in it.” “We don’t know anybody. We had been staying last in a garrison town. That was pleasant: so many nice officers about. You could not go to the window but there’d be some in sight. Here nobody seems to pass by but a crew of staid old parsons.” oOogle comicbooks.6 —_£ om