The Argosy — page 193: what you’re looking at

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

The Village Blacksmith. 179 hair was somewhat disordered by her ride, and her great dark eyes sparkled with the excitement of the scene they had just witnessed, and Reuben thought he had never seen her look so pretty. Janet’s florid style of beauty with her fine figure, even though she was paler than usual, looked commonplace in the presence of Vera, who appeared like the denizen of another world. For grief and love had both set their mark on the girl’s face, and Reuben dimly felt her beauty was of a superior order to Janet’s. Janet’s was the beauty of form and colour only, realistic, of the Rubens type; Vera’s was more. Added to delicacy of form and colour was the beauty of a soul strong to love and to suffer, of a pure spirit, idealistic, Raffaellesque. There are men in the world who would hardly have looked at Vera when Janet was near; there are others who certainly would not have looked at Janet in Vera’s presence, and perhaps the last are the fewer. But Reuben, though only a blacksmith, showed his good taste and his real worth when he felt the power of Vera’s beauty. Reuben grew very grave when he heard of Mark’s behaviour, which was certainly most unbecoming to so recent a convert. Vera was spokeswoman, and she pleaded Janet’s cause so eloquently that the blacksmith himself suggested she should go on a visit to her aunt Norah for a few months, and professed his ability to manage without her, though he owned it would be dull work during the winter. It was finally arranged that Janet should go to Mrs. Canter in a week or ten days : and that Mark might not follow her, it should be given out she was gone to service, her real destination being kept a secret from everyone but Vera and Reuben. On her return home, Vera went straight to her father, to give him Captain Raleigh’s letter and to tell him of Mark’s conduct. At first Mr. Ryot Tempest was inclined to take Mark’s part, and though he allowed that playing with fire-arms was a foolish practice, he blamed Janet for not marrying his factotum, who he maintained would make avery good husband. But when he learnt that his paragon had been guilty of such apostacy as joining the Baptists, he changed his tune, and ringing the bell, ordered Mark into his august presence, determined to give him notice. Well for him; better for Mark, and best for Vera had he done so. But Mark played the penitent so wel], and confessed that though he had submitted to being dipped in a slimy pond he was at heart a churchman, that in the end the Rector relented and Mark remained at the Rectory. Mark’s anger with Vera for having reported his conduct to her father was none the less deep for being concealed under a civil manner; and when a fortnight later he heard Janet was gone out to service no one knew where, he attributed this to Vera’s influence, and resolved to be revenged on her sooner or later. To her he attributed all his ill-luck, and there grew up in his heart, by the side of his love GOGO SS (CO)