The Argosy — page 139: what you’re looking at

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

124 Mary Silver. She played badly to-day: the presence of this brilliant, scornful stranger, who was listening to her with a contemptuous curl of the lip, disturbed her equanimity. ‘Mr. Shelley,” Mary said to her master, when she had left them alone, ‘‘ please tell me who that girl is.” ‘‘She is Miss Grey,” he replied. ‘‘ Miss Rosamund Grey, a new student. I know nothing more of her. You do not like her, do you?” “T never saw anyone I disliked so much!” broke out Mary. ‘¢ She seems to me like a snake woman!” “Come, come!” he cried, laughing kindly, ‘‘ you must not be so vehement against a stranger. I don’t know that I much lke her myself, but I do not call her names.” ““T cannot play before her; her eyes quite unnerve me. She dislikes me furiously ; I can detect that.” ‘YT will have her time for lesson changed, so that you shall not meet,” said Mr. Shelley, kindly. But Mary had to meet Miss Grey at sight-singing and rehearsals. That persevering young woman seemed to have set up a perverse pleasure in Mary Silver’s companionship. She was for ever seeking it, and only, Mary thought, that she might sting her with covert | taunts and bitter words. During rehearsals she would put herself at Mary’s side. Mr. Templeton generally joined them, when Miss Grey would monopolise his attention : not a werd, scarcely, could he give to Mary. ‘* How was it, Frank, that on your return from Cornwall, you never told me you had made Miss Grey’s acquaintance?” Mary had asked, when she once found an opportunity. ‘‘ Oh, it—it did not occur to me, I suppose,” he carelessly answered. ‘“T wish, said Mary, taking courage to say what was in her heart, though her voice trembled, ‘‘I wish, Frank, you had never met her.” ‘Why do you wish that? ” ‘J do not think it will be well for you. I do not think she will be a good companion for you.” ‘“Why not? What do you know against her?” “TI don’t know anything. I feed it.” ‘“Nonsense, Mary, you are prejudiced,” he answered, laughing lightly. ‘‘ Girls never do like one another.” Rosamund Grey might not be a girl likely to do people much good, as Mary put it, but she was a brilliant girl, and beautiful; and she appeared to have set her fancy upon Mr. Frank Templeton. So, little by little, Mary saw her lover becoming estranged from her, and she could only sit by silently, and look at him with wistful eyes. The little rift within the lute went on widening. Frank never came in the choir now, and there were no more pleasant walks down to the station afterwards. He would sit with Miss Grey in another part of the concert-room, and escort Aer away from it, not Mary. CORNICE DOO KS (E€©) m