The Argosy — page 36: what you’re looking at

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

26 Edina. money, apart from his allowance ; he might have said dared not go. It was not convenient to find the sum: so the Major decided that Charles must miss that one term, and keep the next. The weeks went on, Charles had in a degree got over his dread of the Tiger—who still remained on in his lodgings—for it was now very evident that if that mysterious man’s mission at Grassmere were to take him into custody for debt, it might have been accomplished long ere this. Nevertheless, so strongly do first impressions retain their hold upon us, his dislike of the man continued in all its force. But, as Charles’s alarm subsided, Frank’s increased. The more evident it became that Charles was not the Tiger’s object, the more surely did it seem to him that he, himself, was. It was a fear he could not speak of, but his secret uneasiness was great. Neither he nor Frank could pretend to disguise from themselves that the man’s daily business did appear to be that of watching the movements of the Raynor family, especially those of the two young men. Not of watching offensively, but in a quiet, easy, unobtrusive manner. Frank fully believed that the man was a secret emissary of Blase Pellet's, watching that he did not escape. Major Raynor had never noticed this man: and Frank and Charles, each for his own private and individual reasons, had refrained from speaking of him. Of late the Major had chiefly confined himself to the gardens immediately attached to his house, not going beyond them. There were two reasons for this: the one was, that he had now grown 80 very stout as to render walking a trouble to him; the other was, that he never went beyond his inner fence but he was sure to meet one, or other, or more, of those wretched malcontents ; who thought nothing of accosting him and asking him to do this, and to do that. So matters remained pretty stationary : the Major indolently nursing him- self in his easy-chair on the lawn; the young men enjoying their private discomforts ; and the Tiger peering into every conceivable spot open to him, and making himself better acquainted with the general short- comings of the Raynors, in regard to the estate and the people on it, than they themselves were. It was Saturday evening. Alice sat at the piano in the drawing-room, singing songs by twilight, to the intense gratification of William Stane, who stood over her. The young barrister frequently ran down home the last day in the week, to remain over the Sunday with his family. As a matter of course, he spent a great deal of the interlude at Eagles’ Nest. The Major sat back in the room, dozing ; Charles was listlessly turning over a lat of music. Eagles’ Nest had given an afternoon- party that day ; a fashionable kettledrum ; but the guests had departed after the early tea. “can scarcely see,” said Alice, as her lover placed a new song before her. She was in the dress she had worn at the entertai tra comicbooks.com