The Argosy — page 168: what you’re looking at

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

158 Parkwater. The kind face of Lady Tennygal wore a vexed expression. ‘' How could Miss May evince so much bad taste ?” “JT don’t think ‘taste’ is quite the right word,” remarked Lord Tennygal. ‘Mark me, Bessie, this proves that the young lady’s mind has not been altogether well trained: I doubt whether her talents have. Nobody ever took a French prayer-book to our service but from one motive—display. And a well-educated woman knows that she has no need of that. I should say Miss May is much more superficially acquainted with French than you suspect, or she would not seek to parade it.” At this moment they turned an angle of the walk, and came face to face with a gentleman ; a tall, dark man, with a profusion of black hair and whiskers, black eyes that seemed to pierce you in a disagreeable manner, and a too free, but at the same time an ill-tempered cast of countenance. Some people would have shrunk from him instinctively ; some might have called him handsome. He was undoubtedly a fine man as to figure, towering a head and shoulders above Lord Tennygal. It was Captain Devereux, brother to Lady Tennygal, but several years older ; and no two faces, and no two individuals, could be much less alike. “Theodore !” uttered Lady Tennygal, in an accent of surprise. ““What! have you arrived?” exclaimed the Earl. ‘ How well you kept your promise of wniting !” ‘‘ Aw—TI had nothing good to write,” said the new-comer, speaking in a very affected and untrue tone of voice. ‘‘I got here two hours ago, and saw you all filingoff to church. What a thundering long sermon you must have had inflicted on you! I wonder you could sit it out !” “ Do not forget our old bargain, Theodore,” hastily interrupted Lady Tennygal: “ no irreverent speaking before the children.” ‘Oh, it’s Uncle Tody,” exclaimed Rose, running to him. “ Uncle Tody, where’s my live doll ? ” “She died on the voyage.” - ‘* It’s not true,” said Rose. ““Itis. She was sea-sick.” | The child looked very hard of belief. “Then, where's the gondola ?” “Oh, that has sailed away.” Rose turned away in supreme indignation. “Mamma, did you ever know Uncle Tody bring us anything that he promised? It is always the same.” “Uncle Tody” was no longer attending to Rose: his notice was given to the handsome girl who was walking up with Laura. She wore a lilac silk dress and a showy shawl; and he thought, as Lord Tennygal had first done, that it was a visitor. Having a propensity for admiring all the handsome girls that came in his way, Captain Devereux CORNICE OOS (GO)