The Argosy — page 379: what you’re looking at

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

356 The House of Halliwell. ‘‘ How is she looking, Rebecca ?” asked Mrs. Halliwell. ‘As thin as a herring. And she has lost one of her front teeth, and her face is drawn and yellow. She looks ten years older than Hester.” “Oh, Aunt Copp!” exclaimed Hester. ‘““She does. I don’t think the climate agrees with her. And then her children have come so quickly.” “And gone again,” sighed Mrs. Halliwell. ‘Oh, well,” said Aunt Copp, ‘‘ if she could only get over the grief, the poor little things are better off.” ‘‘ How is 5am ?”’ ‘“T suppose he’s all right : I had a letter from him when I landed at Liverpool, which was waiting there. He has gone to the Bermudas.” ‘“T hope you are left comfortably off, Rebecca,” said Mrs. Halli- well. | “Middling. It might be better and it might be worse. When things are squared up, I shall have about what the East India Com- pany allow you— 4 200 a year, which, of course, will be Sam’s after me. Sam has some in a lump, which I daresay he’ll make ducks and drakes of, as soon as he touches it. Do you know,” added Aunt Copp, peering at her sister-in-law, ‘‘ you are not looking well? Very ill, Z think.” . ‘“T cannot boast much, Rebecca.” ‘And now, girls, guess where I went as I came up from Liver- pool. I took somebody in my way.” “The Halliwells at Middlebury, perhaps.” “No. Alfred. I wanted to see an old shipmate of the poor Captain’s, who lives within a few miles of Chelson, so I thought I might as well go on, and have a look at them.” ‘Are they quite well ?” “Nothing to boast of. Alfred has a deal to do, and is badly paid, and his wife has scarcely got over her last illness. At the pace they are going, they will have a score or two of children, I should say. Worse than Jane.” ‘How do you like her, Rebecca ?” “Pretty well. She does not seem to be a first-rate manager, and there’s no regularity in the house, but then there’s only one servant for everything, children and baby and all. I should think the con- fusion must drive the parson wild at sermon writing time. Mabel had a sister stopping with her for a day or two.” “Which one?” asked Hester. ‘ Matilda or Fanny?” “Neither. They called her Amy. A meek-tempered, soft-headed sirl as ever I saw; nothing to say for herself.” ‘Then she is not like Hester’s description of Matilda and Fanny,” laughed Lucy. ‘““T say, Hester,” resumed Aunt Copp, going to another theme, “have you heard anything of that booby yet ?” Gomicbooks.co 7 q3 q H 1) ‘ it {