The Argosy — page 198: what you’re looking at

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

Court Netherlegh. 183 Adela flushed, and began to tap her foot on the carpet in incipient rebellion. Of all things, she hated to be reminded of that mistake of the long-continued years. Miss Margery noted the signs. ‘Child, I do not wish to pain you unnecessarily : but, as the topic has come up, I cannot mince matters, or allow you to mistake my opinion. You hada prince of a husband; a man of rare merit; he has, I truly believe, scarcely his equal in the world —— ” “IT know you always thought him perfection,” interrupted Adela. ‘““T found him so. As near perfection as mortal man may be here.” “ Including his name,” she put in, with a touch of her old sauci- ness. Miss Upton made no reply in words: she simply looked at her. It was a long, steady, and very peculiar look, one that Adela did not understand, and it passed away with a half smile. ‘“‘ For true nobility of mind,” resumed Miss Margery, “ for rectitude of life, for goodness of heart, who is like him? Look at his generosity to all and everyone. Recal one slight recent act of his—what he did for that fantastically foolish lad, Charles Cleveland. Most men, provoked as Mr. Grubb had been by you, and in a degree also by Charles, would have abandoned him to his fate afterwards. Not he. That is not his way. When the poor Rector was fretting himself to discover what was next to be done with Charles, and the young fellow was mooning about Netherleigh, his hands in his pockets, trying to make up his mind to go and enlist, for he saw no other opening, there came a letter to the Rector from Mr. Grubb. He had interested himself with his correspondents in Calcutta—I’m not sure but it is a branch of his own house—and had got Charles a place, out there, at just double the salary he enjoyed here.” “And Charley is half way over the seas on his voyage to 1t,” lightly remarked Adela. ‘‘Charley was a goose, Aunt Margery.” “You cannot say that of your husband,” sharply returned Miss Margery, not approving of the light tone. ‘‘ Unless it was in his love for you. Your husband was fond of you to folly; he indulged your every whim; he would have liked to make your life happy as one long dream of Paradise. And how did you requite him ? ” No answer. ‘The rebellious tapping of the foot had ceased. “Tt has been a sad, cruel business altogether,” sighed Miss Upton: ‘both for him and for you. It has blighted his life; taken all the sunshine out of it. And what has it done for yours ?” What indeed? Adela pushed back her pretty brown hair with both hands from her feverish forehead. ‘Any way, the bight does not seem to have sensibly affected him, Aunt Margery. One hears of him here, there, and everywhere. You can’t take up a newspaper but you see his name reiterated in 1t— Grubb, Grubb, Grubb !” She threw a vast amount of scorn into the name. Margery Upton sighed. GOnlGaooks (C©) mn