The Argosy — page 226: what you’re looking at

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

Featherstors Story. 20G It took place on the Friday after Christmas Day. Something that occurred during the evening was rather remarkable. Miss Preen’s diary gives a full account of it, and that shall be transcribed here. And I, Johnny Ludlow, take this opportunity of assuring the reader that ‘what she wrote was in faithful accordance with the facts of the case. from Miss Preen’s Diary. Saturday morning.—I feel very tired; fit for nothing. Nancy has | undertaken to do the marketing, and is gone out for that purpose with her husband. It is to be hoped she will be moderate, and not attempt to buy up half the market. | I lay awake all night, after the evening at Miss Bosanquet’s, lthinking how foolish Ann was to have had her “future cast,” as that | Italian (if he is Italian) called it, and how worse than foolish I was \to let what he said worry me. ‘Asif there could be anything in it!” laughed Ann, as we were coming home; fortunately she is not jas I amin temperament—nervously anxious. “ It is only nonsense,” said Miss Anna Bosanquet to me when the Signor’s predictions were jat an end; “he will tell someone else just the same next time.” ) But Z did not think so. Of course one is at a loss how to trust this \kind of man. Take him for all in all, I rather like him; and he appears to believe implicitly in what he says: or, rather, in what he tells us the cards say. | They are charming women, these three sisters—Grace, Rose and Anna Bosanquet; good, considerate, high-bred ladies. I wonder ) how it is they have lived to middle life without any one of them )marrying? And I often wonder how they came to take up their Yresidence at Sainteville, for they are very well off, and have great }connections. I remember, though, Anna once said to me that the | dry, pure air of the place suited her sister Rose, who has bad_ health, } better than any other they had tried. _ When seven o’clock struck, the hour named, Nancy and I appeared } together in the sitting-room, ready to start, for we observe punctuality } at Sainteville. I wore my black satin, handsome yet, trimmed with | the rich white lace that Mrs. Selby gave me. Nancy looked very ) nice and young in her lilac silk. She wore a white rose in her hair, sand her gold chain and locket round her neck. Captain Fennel | Surprised us by saying he was not going—his neuralgia had come on. ) I fancied it was an excuse—that he did not wish to meet Sir George ) Bosanquet. He had complained of the same thing on Christmas 1 Day, so it might be true. Ann and I set off together, leaving him ‘nursing his cheek at the table. It was a large gathering for Sainteville—forty guests, I should ‘think ; but the rooms are large. Professor Talcke exhibited some Wonderful feats in—what shall I call it >—necromancy P—as good a Word, perhaps, as any other. He mesmerised some people, and put one of them into a state of clairvoyance, and her revelations took my VOL. XLVII. O 7 COMIC OOO SS (EO) im aw 1 iF al «-* d —_—, ee nent ee De FE ET