The Argosy — page 298: what you’re looking at

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

My Suturdays. 297 we had no interest, and for which we at once felt a perfect hatred. Sometimes Mr. Merton hailed them, and inquired if they had seen anything of our boats; perhaps they had spoken to them going up, perhaps they had seen nothing of them,—at any rate they had no news. After a time, Lady Anderton came wandering out, leaning on Lady Jacobs’s arm, restless and haggard: her hair was in her swollen eyes, her face was miserably distorted with crying, her lace shawl crumpled up under a woollen one which her friend had thrown round her, as the evening was now chilly: she looked years older, and my heart softened with pity to the unhappy woman. I went to meet them, and took them to a seat a little apart from the rest. ‘““T could not stay indoors,” she moaned. ‘‘ I must come out and watch too. After all, she may not be drowned ; don’t you think so, Mrs. Singleton? There is some hope: isn’t there some hope ?” “‘Surely there is hope,” I said, as cheerfully as I could. ‘‘She might have been picked up when the canoe was upset; it is not likely to have overturned by itself! and if 1t was run down by a boat or a steam-launch, there would be people on the spot to help.” ‘““Oh, but people are so often drowned even when there zs help,” said the poor lady, wringing her hands. ‘‘No; she’s drowned; I shall never see her again. Oh, and I have been so unkind to her! But I meant it for the best.” ‘““T] am sure you did,” I said, soothingly. ‘“‘ Yes, but it was not really for the best,” Lady Jacobs interposed, sternly. ‘Don’t you see now, Constantia, how wrong it was to hunt and harry the poor girl, to try and make her sell herself to a man she didn’t like, and keep her from the one she did like? If you had let her be happy with Mr. Rintoul this afternoon, she would be safe now.” I thought this cruel; and Lady Anderton wept piteously. “Oh yes, it is true. Iam the murderer of my child! oh, call me a murderer! I have killed her!” and hysterics again impended. ‘“ Hush, Constantia,” Lady Jacobs resumed, with a controlling force which I should not have suspected in her. ‘‘Keep yourself quiet for what you may have to bear. But I want you to promise, now that you see things as they are, that if even yet it should please Heaven to send Imogen back to you, you will let her be happy in her own way.” “Oh, indeed I promise; oh, if she should come back, she shall do whatever she likes. I will never let her uncle come inside the house, if she wishes. But she will never come back: oh, my child!” And the weary round of tears and lamentations began again. We had no consolation to offer, and little hope ; and so we sat and waited im the evening darkened round us, and the willows whispered chillily. COMMICOAOOKS.cO