The Argosy — page 212: what you’re looking at

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

Roger Bevere. 197 in my way to the best of my power, to God and to man. And I should have done it, but for Johnny Ludlow,” he broke off, with a deep breath of emotion, ‘‘ when I see other young fellows travel- ling along the same wrong road, once earnest, well-meaning lads as I was, not turning aside of their own wilful, deliberate folly, but ensnared to it by the evil works and ways they encounter in that teeming city, my soul is wrung with pity for them. I sometimes wonder whether God will punish them for what they can hardly avoid ; or whether He will not rather let His anger fall on those who throw temptations in their way.” Poor Roger, poor Roger! Mr. Brandon used to talk of the skeleton in zs closet: he little suspected how terrible was the skeleton in Roger’s. Lady Bevere kept four servants: for she was no better off, except for a little income that belonged to herself, than is many another admiral’s widow. An upper maid, Harriet, who helped to wait, and did sewing: a housemaid and a cook; and an elderly man, Jacob, who had lived with them in the time of Sir Edmund. During the afternoon of this day, Saturday, Roger and I set off to walk to Brighton with the two girls. Not by the high road, but by a near way (supposed to cut off half the distance) across a huge, dreary, flat marsh, of which you could see neither the beginnipg nor the end. In starting, we had reached the gate at the foot of the garden, when - Harriet came running down the path. She was a tall, thin, civil young woman, with something in her voice or in her manner of speak- ing that seemed to my ear familiar, though I knew not how or why. “Miss Mary,” she said, ‘‘ my lady asks have you taken umbrellas, if you please. She thinks it will snow when the sun goes down.” “Yes, yes; tell mamma we have them,” replied Mary : and Harriet ran back. “How was it the mother came to so lonely a spot as this?” questioned Roger, as we went along, the little one, Tottams, jumping around me. ‘You girls must find it lively ?” Mary laughed as she answered. ‘ We do find it lively, Roger, and we often ask her why she came. But when mamma and George looked at the place, it was a bright, hot summer's day. They liked it then: it has plenty of rooms in it, you see, though they are old-fashioned ; and the rent was so very reasonable. Be quiet, Tottams.” “So reasonable that I should have concluded the place had a ghost in it,” said Roger. “ George’s curacy was at Brighton in those days, you know, Roger: that is why we came to the neighbourhood.” “And George had left for a better curacy before you had well settled down here! Miss Tottams, if you pull at Johnny Ludlow like that, I shall send you back by yourself.” “True. But we like the place very well now we are used to it, and we know a few nice people. One family—the Archers—we like EONNIE OO KS (E(0) m