Beadle's Dime Novels No. 138: Tim, the Scout — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

88 TIM, THE SCOUT. SZ “ Your. mother was my cousin, Lizzie, and I loved her, You are her living image. I was a boy when she married your father, at that time a merchant in Montreal. You did not know before that you are a Canadian. You are, though, born in Great St. James street, seventeen years ago. I was then an ensign in the Twentieth regiment of foot, stationed in Canada, at Montreal. When you were four years old your mother died, and a year-after your father began to enter upon evil ways. At that time he was the handsomest man in Montreal. The ladies were dying for him, the men madly jealous of him, but he gave them no cause. He was always loyal to the memory of his wife. He kissed her as she lay in her coffin, and said no other woman should usurp her place in his heart. Hekept that vow. In his reckless round of dissipation, at the gaming-table, wherever he went, her bright face followed him. It was that which drove him into evil ways in the first place; that and nothing else. He was rich; but he was also passionately fond of gaming: While your mother lived, she could control him; but when she was: gone, every night saw him at the roulette table, staking and losing his hundreds. JI never saw such luck. Night after night he played on, losing, losing, losing—enough to turn any man mad. He drank to excess, There was not a night in four months when he did not return, all his money gone, bills out against him, and his head giddy with drinking.” “How do you know this ?” said Lizzie, turning upon him quickly. But the captain was noways abashed. “ Oh, as to that, I was as wild as he,” he replied. “It is no use to deny what is forever past. I was a wicked fellow then, perhaps am a wicked fellow now—gone wild because I have no one to show me the right way. . But, Lizzie, if I had you for a wife I know I should reform.” . “ f hope so;’ but the reformation must come without that, I can never be your wife.” , ; “Don’t say that, Lizzie. You know I have made up my inind to have it my way. But I must go on with my story. This course of dissipation could not last. His money was going, and he sold his property and had it all in money and jewels ready for the next bout at the table,'so that he need’ not go to his banker’s. One night he took out three thousand Comiicboolks com