The Argosy — page 46: what you’re looking at

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

16 The Mystery of Allan Grale. secluded herself from her duties to her uncle or her supervision over the servants. She did that much. But she was no more to be met going out visiting, or traversing the lanes on errands of helpful kind- liness. Neither, when she could avoid it, was she visible in the drawing-room. She saw the Palmers once or twice, but she eluded anything like an interview with the girls. She was never seen in public—not even at church, though once or twice she stole down to a short week-night service, held by the kindly vicar for the purpose of imparting a little comfort and cheer to the aged, lonely, and illiterate people of his flock. It quite startled the good man when, in the dim lamplight, he saw Miss Vivian’s white, up-turned face. As soon as the service was over, she glided away like a ghost, hastening out of th2 little churchyard and crossing the Court gardens alone. Neither brothers, nor uncle nor aunt, knew of those church attendances. They believed her to be shut up in her own room. “A nervous shock of some kind,” decided the doctors, and the Dering people thought it was due to her uncle’s suiden and alarming illness. Only Dr. Palmer and Agnes knew bettcr. They knew of that strange fear of hers concerning Allan, but they did not speak of it, even to each other ; and, though the fear must have been set at rest, they concluded that the shock had thus told upon her. Mrs. Grale would have given way before this, but for her stern and strong-minded husband. As the days and days went on, and still there came to the anxious mother no tidings from her son, she now and again whispered her fears to her husband in the privacy of their chamber. He calmed her, quieted her ; he told her that he thought Alny must have gone for a sea-voyage and that they could not hear from him just yet. He did not altogether believe this himself ; in truth, he knew not what to believe; but he thought it not an unlikely step for Allan to take, and he knew there were reasons for his absenting himself from Dering. | The Grales were going to London for a few weeks. It was Mr. Grale who suggested it ; and he did so for the sake of his depressed and nervous wife. The change of scene and the general racket which a visit to London implied, might divert her mind from home troubles. They might spend Christmas there, he said. Mrs. Grale opposed the idea ; at firston general grounds. She had not the courage to say that she wanted to be ready to receive her son, if his heart softened to his home at Christmas time. She said that she hated to be out of her own snug house in the cold weather—that she could not bear railway travelling, and so on. But Mary Anne told the plain truth for her and to her, reproaching her again with caring nothing for her daughter's pleasure or her husband’s wishes, but preferring to mope about on some vague hope of Allan’s turn- ing up. c And if he should come while we are away—what of it?” urged Mary Anne. ‘He would not run off again, even if we were not here.” comniclooo ks (C(O)