The Argosy — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

Lottie’s “Yes.” I51 than in his nursery, and Lady Davenant had taken to her heart the motherless girl, and thought she loved her as she loved her own. It would have been terrible to her to have to acknowledge that she was ready to sacrifice Eve for an imaginary advantage to Harry: and at this point her reflections became so entangled and so altogether unsatisfactory that she was not sorry when they were inter- rupted by the chief subject of them. The suggestion that her boy had been led to act in any way which could be supposed to fall short of the high ideal which was, as she asserted to herself, her standard for him, was very grievous to her; but how was it possible that she could look upon him, as he threw himself down by her side, and listen to any such suggestion? Handsome, charming, and a. thoroughly spoilt child, who could find fault with Harry Davenant P’ For a moment it occurred to her that her husband had seen deeper’ into the matter than any of them. What if that gay and graceful air, those tender tricks and flatteries of manner, those outward shows. of all that seemed most promising within, had been the means of © robbing Eve Dacre of that which is a woman’s best possession, “ the . quiet of her thoughts” P And what if she herself had been the means. of bringing about a state of things which they might all eventually have to regret? But she had to throw aside such meditations, and to answer Harry’s somewhat questioning eyes with a smile. ‘Why are you come back so soon? I thought you were spending © the evening at the vicarage.” “Yes, so I was; but I got bored—and so I came away.” ** Bored, Hale?” “Yes; Butler had been asked to meet me, and was full of con-- gratulations. Really, Eve should have a little more tact. It is so- extremely annoying to be congratulated ; and what with his ‘ comple- mentary colours’ and his ‘ symmetrical arrangements,’ he is decidedly” a bore. One would think, too, by the way in which the girls look up’ to him, that he was the inventor of the rainbow, and the composer of a zonale pelargonium.” “* Harry!” ‘‘T was beginning to lose my temper, so I left them.” ‘But Mr. Butler thinks of nobody but Eve; he never listens to anybody else. How came he to engross Lottie?” This was said pertinently and with intention. ‘I don’t know that he engrossed Lottie; I don’t know that he thinks of nobody but Eve.” ‘“My dear boy ! everybody sees that.” ‘ Everybody is very often very much mistaken.” _ “There is no mistake about that. I only wish Eve was not so indifferent : although perhaps, after all, it is better so. It would be an imprudent match.” ‘“Imprudent ! by Jove, yes!” “And he is quite aware that he has no hope; he even said as COMmMicoooks (SO) im