Beadle's Dime Novels No. 142: The Sagamore of Saco — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

80 THE SAGAMORE OF SACO. evidence of cant, and, it may be, of hypocrisy also, to her clear, cheerful intellect. Captain Bonyton, however, secretly gave Sir Richard a hint, in a neighborly way, that the women felt themselves aggrieved at this omission, aud the more, hinted at dark, mys- terious Opinions in regard to little Hope, which it might be well to counteract by a more familiar intercourse of Mistress Vines with her neighbors. Sir Richard having suggested this to his fxir dame, she might have been seen the next afternoon, fresh as a rose, and bright as the morning, picking her way to the mansion of Mistress Bonyton. She carried herself bravely in her high heels, and the stiff- est of stiff rufls barricading her fair neak, and her rich brown hair drawn back from her handsome forehead, and frizzed in a way wondrous to behold. - A little lees of style, a little less of fineness, my lady, would have better suited the austere dames who await thy coming ! They were seated in the “ fore-room” of the house, the shut- ters of which were purtially closed, giving a dim, ghostly as- pect to the interior, in which were seated about twenty wo- men, plainly dressed, each with her hair parted at the top of the head and drawn to the back as smooth and tight as hair could well be drawn. The elderly matrons were seated at one side, and the younger grouped together near the door. Fair, pale young faces were not wanting; prematurely grave, but pure and tender. “Tt is nearly upon the stroke of three, and yet she does not come. Reach me the Bible; the Lord’s work must not wait because of his tardy servants.” This from Mistress Bonyton, who drew down her face omi- nously, and closed with a groan. “ What think you of that chilé, Hope? I would have thy opinion, dame, for I have great misgivings.” Mistress Bonyton put her finger in the Bible, where she had found the chapter she designed to read, and she now closed the book over it, and standing the large volume on end, bent forward, resting her chin upon it, she looked out of the corner of her eye at Mistress Higgins, who had asked the question. conmiclooolks.conn