The Argosy — page 378: what you’re looking at

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

) | The House of Halliwell. 355 I have a world of business before me. So as soon as [I landed, after rigging myself in my new costume, which I feel most wretched in, and can’t bear the sight of, I came right off to London to do it, taking you on the road, for a day or two, before I get there. ” “T thought you were come for a long stay, Aunt Copp. There seemed a great deal of luggage.” “T never travel without plenty of luggage; there’s no knowing what one may want. Some of it is for you. Dresses, and shawls, and I don’t know what all, from Jane Pepper.” “Tell me about her,” sighed Mrs. Halliwell. “Well, I don’t want to shock you, but unless Jane chooses to take heart, she’ll just cry herself to death.” “Cry herself to death!” uttered Mrs. Halliwell. “She cries morning, noon, and night. At least she did for the last fortnight of my stay there. All the children are gone.” mace!” “All three; they have followed the other two. Little sickly things they were. ‘The one died before I got to Calcutta, and the two others while I was there. So that makes all five gone. Of course Jane frets herself into shreds over it, and to reason with her was use- less. ‘ Five such darling children,’ she kept harping upon, ‘and all gone.’ ‘Your crying won’t mend it, Jane,’ I said, and with that she set on and cried the more. So I went to her husband. ‘ Captain Pepper,’ I said (by the way, he’s getting on rapidly, and expects soon to have his majority), ‘do you want to bury Jane?’ «To bury her!’ he echoed, staring at me, ‘what do you mean, Aunt Copp ?’—for, you see, that’s what he has taken to call me, through hearing Jane. ““* Why, she’ll just fret and stew herself into her grave at the rate she is going on,’ I answered. ‘ Now you had better persuade her to come with us to England. I and Captain Copp will take good care of her on the voyage’ (little thinking, you know, my dears, what a one we were going to have), ‘and it will be change of scene and change of air. She'll stop with her mother and sisters, and when she’s tired of them, and her health is strong, she can come back to you. Now, Captain, you must just worry her till she consents, for it’s the only thing.’ “<¢T’ll try and persuade her, Aunt Copp,’ said he. ‘I think a voyage to England would do her good, and I have told her so.’ Well, my dears, he could do nothing with her, any more than I could. Jane would not leave him: and my belief is, that though he talked to her before me, he just stopped when my back was turned. ‘They are as fond of each other, are those two, as they were the day they married, which, as I represented to them, was perfectly unreasonable and ridiculous. However, the upshot was, that Jane let us sail with- out her, and I don’t believe you'll get her over to Europe at all, unless he can obtain leave and come with her. So there.” CoOnnicloookks am