The Argosy — page 165: what you’re looking at

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

What Our Advertisement Brough. 151 ‘It’s a long advertisement,” he said, looking as if he carelessly weighed it with his eye. “You counted very rapidly,” commented Deborah, politely. “‘ Do you feel as if you had been quite correct? ” I do not wish to say the young man was not civil, but I was conscious that his expression too nearly bordered on a laugh. Besides, though he appeared to count again, he held to the eleven shillings ; and Deborah had to pay it too. “ Of course, as the charge is so high, the advertisement will be in- serted at once,” spoke Deborah, with confidence. I was sorry once more to remark in the young man an inclination to smile, because otherwise he was well behaved. And, indeed, it is due to him here to State that he evidently aid exert himself on our behalf, for next day our advertisement was in. To us the paper seemed to contain nothing else, though I remember that many people said about that time that the daily papers were filled with the Claimant. “Tt reads beautifully,” remarked Deborah. ‘That one idea of mine, about full liberty with the comfort of home, tells excellently ; not that I wish to take the credit, Lavinia; we will look upon the whole compo- sition as a joint production.” Which view I took also. “That idea of inviting a call is good too,” continued Deborah. “You remember my saying ‘af would take, when I first proposed it. Now make haste over your breakfast, Lavinia. Some one may call directly. Each one would try to be first. I will go at once and change my dress.” And Deborah rose, to my intense surprise, without waiting for her second cup of tea. ‘ Don’t be excited,” she said, putting an anti- macassar into her pocket and dropping her handkerchief; ‘I am always calm over these things. Dear me, Lavinia, how mean the other adver- tisements look beside ours.” We could not have a pudding ¢haf day, so I was soon ready to join Deborah, and prepared to entertain our callers as they might flock to us. We had put on our tabby silks and garnet ear-rings, and I think we looked very nice indeed, and not nearly so anxious and frightened as we really felt. Mary Ann, too, was dressed, and sewing in her tidy kitchen ; for though I didn’t myself fancy that any gentleman would ask to see the kitchen, Deborah said one never could foresee what London people might do. Well, though that was one of the longest days I ever spent, I need not make it so long in the telling. At dark, when Ann came in to close the shutters, Deborah and I were still sitting in our tabby silks, working at the Berlin work, which we always kept to take out to tea with us, and trying to look as if we always wore shot silks and cee, am) hago