The Argosy — page 358: what you’re looking at

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

338 The Master of Greylands. Sermon to the edification of his flock. Little Marie sat in the large pew with the Grey Ladies, between Sister Mary Ursula in her black attire, and Sister Betsey in her grey. The latter, who had a special love for children, had taken the little one under her particular charge. Marie was in black also: and a keen observer night have fancied there was some sort of likeness between her and the stately Head Sister beside’her. The child looked happy and contented. To the scandal of the surrounders, no doubt far more to them than to that of the Parson himself, whose mouth widened with a laugh, she, happening to ‘espy out her mother when they were standing up to say the Belief, ex- tended her hands, called out ‘ Maman! maman!” and began to nod incessantly. Sister Betsey succeeded in restoring decorum. Madame Guise sat with Mr. and Mrs. Bent, occupying the post of honour at the top of the pew. In the square, crimson-curtained pew pertaining to Greylands’ Rest, sat the Master of Greylands and his family : his wife with a pinched face, for she had contrived to take cold ; Harry tall as himself, free and fascinating ; Flora staring about with the plaister patches on her face ; and Ethel Reene, devout, modest, lovely. They were all in black: the mourning worn for Mr. Peter Castlemaine. Their servants, also in mourning, occupied a pew behind that of the Grey Ladies. It might have been noticed that Mr. Castle- maine never once turned his head towards these ladies: he had never favoured them, and the step taken by his niece in joining their society had vexed him more materially than he would have liked to say. He had his private reasons for 1t: he had cause to wish those ladies’ backs turned on Greylands; but he had no power to urge their departure openly, or tosend them by force away. Very dull was poor Charlotte Guise all that Sunday evening. She would not meet the little one on coming out of church, but mixed with the people to avoid it. Her heart yearned to give a fond word, a tender kiss ; but so anxiously bent was she upon entering Greylands’ Rest that she shrank from anything that might impede it, or imperil the child's stay at the Nunnery. After taking tea in her parlour, she sat awhile in her own room above ; indulging her sadness. It was sometimes worse than she well knew how to bear. She might not give way to grief, distress, anguish in the presence of the world ; that, might have betrayed her to suspicion ; but there were moments when alone that she yielded ' to it in all its bitterness. _ The fathomless sea, calm to-night, was spread out before her, grey and dull, for the rays of the setting sun had left it: did that sea cover the body of him whom she had loved more than life ? To her left rose the Friar’s Keep—she could almost catch a glimpse of its dark walls, if she stretched her head well out at the casement: at any rate, she could see this end of the Grey Nunnery, and that was something. Did that Friar’s Keep, with its dark tales, its superstitious stories—did that Keep contain the mystery ? She fully believed:it did. econniclooolkks (CO) in —_)