The Argosy — page 391: what you’re looking at

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

368 The House of Halliwell. of the things. As to remonstrating with Captain Kerleton, they had given that over as a bad job, and had no resource but to take the things in. Many of them came from London, without address to send them back to, and they did not choose to raise a scandal by despatching them to the Captain’s apartments at the inn. But things could not go on like that for ever, and Lucy felt that she must accept or reject him. The Captain felt so too, and he went up one day and told Lucy, in the presence of her sister and aunt, that he had been lying on tenter-hooks all night, and for several previous nights besides, and would she marry him. ‘‘T’ll make her so happy,” said he, appealing to Aunt Copp, as Lucy glided from the room; ‘‘she shall have what she likes, and go where she likes. Would she like to see China ?” Mrs. Copp thought not. It was too far. She had once, herself, been in the Chinese seas, and was glad to her heart to get into British ones again. ‘Oh! Because distance is no object to me,” explained the Captain. ‘TI think, Captain Kerleton, that Lucy would wish to see a little of your family,” suggested Hester. ‘’There’s not a soul left of it but me and my brother,” answered the Captain. ‘‘ When he comes back from Scotland, [ll take Lucy up to see him, if she likes; which would be a good opportunity for her to get anything in London she may want for the wedding.” He evidently spoke in no bad faith ; Hester saw he did not. But he did make simple remarks now and then, such as one might expect to hear from a child. “That’s not the fashion in our part of the country,” said Aunt Copp, snapping him up. ‘‘ Young ladies don’t go on journeys with gentlemen before they are married to them.” ‘“ But that is exactly what I want,” returned the Captain. “I have been ready to marry her all along. It was Miss Lucy who would not. Will she marry me to-morrow ? ” ‘Goodness, Captain,” remonstrated Aunt Copp. ‘‘ With no house, and no establishment, and no anything? ‘The neighbours would think us all out of our senses together.” ‘Well, the long and the short of it is this, if Miss Lucy will not have me, I shall go and find somebody else that will,” cried the Captain, turning sulky—an occasional failing of his. “And IT'll go by the mail to-night, if she does not give me an answer to-day.” Lucy gave him his answer, and accepted him. ‘“ But, Hester,” she said to her sister, ‘‘I do it chiefly to oblige him and Aunt Copp; I don’t much care for him.” And Hester’s opinion was that Lucy spoke the truth. ‘‘T am not madly in love, you know,” she went on, laughing, ‘‘as you were with somebody, once upon a time. I do not fancy it is in my constitution, or else our friend the Captain has failed to call it forth.” Gomicbooks.co