The Argosy — page 84: what you’re looking at

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

All Souls’ Eve. 69 [V. ALL Saints’ Day at last! and a very fine one. It was to be an event- ful day, take it forall in all. Breakfast over, Clara left her mother to the care of the French nurse and prepared to go out. “ Have you seen her, Miss Clare?” whispered Babette, as she tra- versed the passage to open the house-door for the young lady. “¢Seen whom ? ” “La patronne,” answered Babette, with one of her favourite side- nods towards the staircase. ‘She'll be down by-and-by, as fine as an empress, in her brown satin gown; and she’s putting white net sleeves over her old wrists, and there’s a pair of straw-coloured gloves lying on the commode by her bonnet and new cloak. Won't some cats have tails !” “Open the door, Babette. I shall be late at mass.” “Not so late as she’ll be. When she comes out en grande tenue, she’s always an hour at her toilet. But for the love of all the saints, Mademoiselle,” continued the unceremonious Babette, running her eyes over Clara, “ why did you keep on your old mourning to-day? And all the commune so elegant !—and you with those lovely dresses in your garde-robe! I’m sure that uncle of Madame your mamma’s has had the mourning worn for him these six months, It’s getting to look quite rusty.” “Oh, what matters it—black or white?” uttered Clara, the grieved feeling in her heart finding vent, as the woman spoke about mourning. “ Don’t keep me here, Babette. I want to go.” . 3 _ Babette moved her back from against the door; and Clara, passing out, found herself face to face with Madame Latange, with whom she had held no intercourse since the departure of Francis. She would willingly have shrunk away now, but Babette had shut the door. “Don’t look so scared, young lady,” said the latter, in a kind tone, to Clara’s very great astonishment. ‘‘I am not going to reproach you. He is gone; and, to indulge ill-feeling will not bring him back again. Perhaps I might have liked you better, but you see I had set my mind on his marrying Anastasie. She was just the wife for him, for she would have kept the chateau together, and things in the kitchen from going _ to.rack and ruin, and checked Francis in his generous fits.” Madame paused, but Clara did not answer. ‘She has been ungrateful, has Anastasie. Actually gone and pro- mised to marry a man who is at mortal enmity with me—Farmer Brun. He won a lawsuit from me last year. Since then, my dear, it has crossed my mind that you might have made him as good a wife as she; solet us be friends. We’ll go to mass together.” Clara went. Walking into church side by side with Madame, to the wondering astonishment of all the gazers in it. GOMlG doo SS) (S©) an