The Argosy — page 108: what you’re looking at

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

The House of Halliwell. gl to speak. ‘Selfish! Selfish!” It is the reproach that has clung to her conscience since. Ay, and with cause. “How Aunt Copp will be deceived, when she comes home and finds you are engaged!” exclaimed Lucy to her sister. ‘‘ She will not crow so much over her fortune-telling, for the future. Hester, I do believe she will be quite angry. She is so fully persuaded that you are not to marry.” Hester smiled, a quiet smile of happiness. The time came, and they were ordained together. ‘The Reverend Alfred Halliwell was appointed to a curacy in a remote district of North Wales, and the Reverend George Archer to Seaford. He came. He read himself in on the last Sunday in Lent, the day preceding Passion Week. Seaford Church stood about midway between the village and the gates of Seaford Park. It was called the old church, in contradistinction to the new one, St. Jude’s. It was a small, low, unpretending edifice, only one monument within it and one handsome pew, and they belonged to the Earls of Seaford. As they walked into church that day, .which will ever be one of those left in Hester’s memory, she did not look up, but she saw by intuition that George Archer was in the reading-desk, and the rector in his pew. Mr. Coomes, for that day, was only one of the con- eregation. He began the service, and they stood up. It is one of the few remembered moments of agitation in Hester’s life; her breath came fast, she saw nothing, and her face was white as the snow outside. It was a very early Easter, that year, and the snow lay on the ground. In poor Hester’s foolish fancy, she thought everybody must be look- ing at her; as if the congregation, in their curiosity to look at and listen to him, regarded her! He had a persuasive voice, low and silvery, and though it did not tremble he was certainly nervous in his new position, for his bright colour went and came. When Hester gathered courage to look round, she forgot every- thing in astonishment. Against the wall, under the one monument, facing the side of the pulpit, was the pew of the Earls of Seaford, with its brass rods and crimson curtains. During the four years they had gone to Seaford Church (previously they had attended St. Jude’s) that pew had always been empty, and now it was occu- pied! Standing at the end, was a young lady, just budding into womanhood, very beautiful; at the other end was a man of fifty, short, but of noble presence, with wrinkled brow and grey hair ; and. standing between these two, were four lads, of various ages, from ten to sixteen or seventeen. ‘The young lady’s eyes were fixed on George Archer’s face, and Hester could not take her gaze from hers. _ It was the sweetest face she had ever seen, with its exquisite features, _ its delicate bloom, and its dark, spiritual-looking eyes : it is the sweetest _ face that ever rises to her memory. Hester glanced round at the large CORE Oe SS (C(O) mM =>)