The Argosy — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

My Cousin Caroline's Wedding. ‘ 63 the lodze gates, talking to the gardener’s wife, but the cherry-cheeked housemaid, my especial favourite of all the family, Caroline excepted. So I checked the postillions, and leaned from the window. ““T say, Nancy, what’s up? Why am I sent for?” ‘* Miss Caroline’s wedding, sir.” “Miss Caroline’s wedding! Why—how—how long has this been about ?” | ‘‘Two or three months, sir, it has been talked of. Quite a first-rate match, and such a handsome man! Captain Fitz .” The rest was lost in the roll of the chaise, the impatient postboys, or perhaps the horses, declining to wait longer. . They were dressed for dinner, and came to the drawing-room windows to stare at me in the chaise-and-four. Aunt Dashingly avore her great crimson turban and upright feathers, which, if they had been black, might have served for a hearse, and that starched-out old amber-satin gown. Caroline was in pink, with some brown ribbons bobbed oddly about her hair, and the faded partings; and my sweet sister Lina wore white muslin. Lina was an heiress. Greatly to the indignation of we six portion- less fellows, her brothers, to whom it would have been of use, our Indian uncle-in-law, Nabob Cayenne, had left her all his fortune—thirty thousand pounds. Since my mother’s death, Lina had been under Aunt Dashingly’s especial protection. And a very tight protection it was ; nobody might dare look at her within a mile, or touch her with a long pole. An immense sensation had been created in Devonshire, some few years previcusly, by Dashingly House and all its inmates “ going over to Rome.” .This was rather in fashion at the time ; and that’s all that can be said about it. Caroline and her brothers “ went over” too, and as many of the servants as had no mind to leave their easy places at Dashingly House. Tyro Dashingly, the elder son, had espoused a rich widow. Alfred, the younger, was away, playing the rake as usual, and Caroline pursued her conquests and her flirtations. It was quite an event when Lina came. Mrs. Dashingly’s first solicitude about her was to make her and her thirty thousand pounds the property of Alfred, with as little delay as convenient; her second was to worry, lecture, and persuade Lina to abjure her heretical training, and embrace the true faith, as they had done. Against both of which propositions, Lina, undutiful girl that she was, rebelled. Two or three suitors had sought her hand, but the moment their wishes became known, her aunt had sent them off flying; just as she did me, when I presumed to fall in love with Caroline. And it was an understood thing now that anybody else, except Alfred, daring to aspire to her, would be warned away in like manner. Aunt had it all her own: way until Lina‘should be of age, and as yet she was only nineteen. ECOMicoOOKS.CoOm