The Argosy — page 232: what you’re looking at

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

Miss Oldham’s Chotce. 215 Ah, it is a sad thing for any woman to live alone. Miss Oldham would far better have gone on enduring the elderly companions. The world never knew it, but many a hot tear welled forth from the clear eyes, in the gorgeous privacy of her sitting-room ; for a woman, after all, must be a woman. It was not that Miss Oldham cared a bit about the money, but she did hate to be cheated; and everybody, just because she was 2 woman and alone, seemed so ready to take advan- tage of her. All the furnished houses were either too dear or too dirty ; and all the house agents either snarled or smirked ; and all the world had at least one friend in whom to confide its troubles—except Miss Oldham. No wonder the blue eyes clouded sometimes—when there was nobody but the little blue shepherdesses on the mantelpiece to see. It was just one week after the incident about the Indian silk and Miss Oldham, as usual, was on the hunt for houses. It was a beauti- ful, clear, sunny afternoon, but more oppressively warm than the other one had been, and she was driving rapidly along the white, unshaded streets, trying vainly to obtain something like coolness under a dainty, green parasol. Her face looked paler than usual, partly on account of the greenish shade, and partly that she was very tired. She had orders to see three houses, but as the fly stopped, and she got out, she said to herself that though this was only the second, it would be the last she would visit to-day at all events. Then she went slowly up the steps and rang the bell. She looked well up and down the outside of the house, as she had got into the way of doing, and approved of it. ‘Three stories high and attics; and a nice balcony, festooned by bright-blossomed creepers. Well, this, at last, was just what she wanted, if the inside was only as mice, and if they were not asking too extravagant a sum for it. It was not at all that she was unable to pay any sum however extrava- gant, but only that she objected to do so for the seemingly tacitly understood reason that she was both lonely and rich. As she stood there, her delicate-coloured, airy-like French dress seemed to combine with the almost unseasonably hot day to make one dream of the departing summer. When the door opened she glanced again at the paper in her hand. ‘““] have an order to see this house on Tuesday, between the hours of four and six. I suppose it is convenient for me to go over it to-day ?” The footman threw a surprised glance at the order and one of respectful admiration at Miss Oldham. ‘J am afraid, ma’am, there must be some mistake.” Miss Oldham studied the order attentively again, and put this down to another of the strange eccentricities of Boroughbourne. ‘There is no mistake,” she said, almost patiently. ‘The order of admittance is regularly drawn out for this house. I have no wish to see anything further to-day than the drawing-room and dining-room. cCoOnniclooolkks (CO)