The Argosy — page 248: what you’re looking at

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

Five Thousand a Year. 229 Mrs. Grainger rose up and looked at her, really doubting her ears. “What do you say, Sophy ?” ‘Mrs. Smith is dead.” “* Dead !” “Dead, ma’am. She died in the night. Her husband says it was decline, and she knew she should not get well, but she bore up to the last to keep the scholars together. I expect they had nothing else to live upon, for he gets mo teaching at his foreign languages. He is cut up above a bit, poor man, and says he did not know it was so very near. She was only thirty-one: and he don’t look so old.” Mrs. Grainger motioned the gossiping servant to leave the room, and lay back on her sofa. Sharp thought came over her with its adder stings. Dead! And she had murmured in her heart at the child’s being returned on their hands for ome afternoon, fearful of his noise disturbing her, when this poor lady had struggled out her life in its midst ! | II. THE weeks rolled by, and Mrs. Grainger was recovering. Not quite so speedily as her physician had hopefully prophesied, but on the whole very well. A shade of pink was returning to her cheeks; she only lay down now and then; and, the greatest sign of all, her naturally vigorous mind was resuming its tone. As to her husband, his whole thoughts and heart were concentred upon one point—the Great Trebeddon Mines. One day, a little later than his usual hour for returning, he came bustling in, tearing up the stairs four at a time. His wife was in the drawing-room, one of her little children on her knee. ‘‘ How are you, Margaret? All right, I see. What have you got for ‘dinner ? ”’ . | “ For dinner !”’ ri 1 “Because I have asked Little. He’ll be here in a minute or two.” “To-day! Iwish I had known. There’s no time now to make any addition.” “Oh, Little’s not particular. He will take pot-luck. I told him so. Really, Margaret, the vista opening to that man is truly astonishing.” “ He is lucky.” ‘“‘T am so glad you are well enough to be down with us in the dining- room; you will be so interested in what he says. Everybody must be. _ I declare I would rather have that man’s prospects than be heir to the first dukedom in the three kingdoms.” Mrs. Grainger laughed. | ‘* Indeed—there’s his knock! Pack off that child, Margaret. Stay ! ll ring the nursery bell.” | George Little was a man of forty ; but in spite of his having attained GomiilGcaooks am