The Argosy — page 193: what you’re looking at

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

176 Mrs. Raven’s Temptation. presumed aristocratic blood on his father’s side. But its coarse plainness was redeemed by the frankness and kindness of its expres- sion. Sent by the coachman on an early errand to the village, he had there met, as was evident, with somethgng to excite him. ‘Does anybody here believe in witches?” he asked, as he stood — with open mouth and eyes, before the company. “What do you mean by talking of witches?” croaked Charity severely. | ‘ There’s a witch at the Pitchfork,” answered the lad. “I went ever there about the straw, and Giles the ostler told me of her.” “Don’t you go and be friendly with the Pitchfork—-or with its ostler either,” advised Mrs. Sims. ‘If the late Squire had been of my opinion, he’d not have allowed any tavern in the place, save the old respectable White Hart. That Pitchfork zs a beauty. What did Giles say about a witch ?” ‘She doesn’t call herself a witch, ma’am, Giles said; she calls herself a—some queer word—a—a clear-voyer,” stammered Jem. “A clairvoyante,” exclaimed the butler. ‘Oh, then, that’s a different thing. Clairvoyance is scientific. Leastways, it’s said to be a new power, sprung up of late years.” ‘Giles says she does not want to do any clear-voying here,” resumed James. ‘‘She only told them she was one that they might not be frightened if she took a queer sort of fit. She’s a foreigner, from Egypt, they think: a big, dark woman, fair spoken. Well, the missis at the Pitchfork, hearing this, was taken with a wish to know something about her brother that went to sea and never came back. And Worsfold, he said to his wife, ‘Of course she could tell you something about your brother—I could do that myself,’ said he, ‘ but how are you going to decide whether it’s true or not.” ‘‘'There’s more sense in Worsfold than one would have thought,” emarked Mrs. Sims. ‘The missis saw the force of that,” said James, ‘‘ and she thought it over. ‘Suppose,’ says she to Worsfold, ‘ we was to ask her to tell as all she can about us, saying ne’er a word ourselves; then, if she speaks truth about what we do know, surely we may trust her to speak it about what we don't.’ And so up she went to the lodger, and they had a deal of talking together; and the master, Giles says, was walting anxious at the bottom of the stairs. But she brought no news down. The clear-voyer wouldn’t do anything then— or couldn’t, maybe, thinks Giles. She told the missis she did not want to do anything in this place, Ravenstoke, because there was evil in the air.” ‘Like her impudence !” exclaimed Mrs. Sims. “That set the missis on, more eager than ever, Giles says: he’s not sure that it didn’t set the master. She went up again to the clear-voyer and told her she’d make it well worth her while; but the clear-voyer answered at once that if she spoke of money it would spoil CONMIELICO KS, (E0) m