The Land Claim — page 28: what you’re looking at

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

24 THE LAND-CLAIM. voice as she did so. Just as he reached the porch, she had flitted to the door for another glance at the beautiful May landscape and smiling heavens, her flaxen curls prettily disordered by exercise, and such roses blushing on her cheeks as only blossom out of English complexions, or our New England ones, But the roses faded, and the gay carol died on her lips, at the sight of her visitor. Involuntarily she stretched out her hands, as if to beg of him not to tell the news he brought. Allen took them in his own very tenderly, and led her into the house, where he perceived the table already spread for dinner, in the center of which was a dish of delicious-looking strawberries, ‘‘ Ah,” said he, making a poor attempt at a smile, “I hope you will allow me a dish of this beautiful fruit, though I have come uninvited.” a But he did not release the little hands that. they serve him; he only looked anxiously in the changing nance, with a weakness at his heart which he could not overcome. _ And Alicia herself, between eqnberraesmens at his si manner and a conyiction of some impending was unable to extricate her hands from his grasp, or to ask for an explanation of his visit. How long Allen would have remained tongue-tied on the subject he had come about is uncertain, had he not caught the sound of excited voices approaching, and felt the necessity of breaking the news before they should reach the house. “Poor little girl!’ he hurriedly whispered, “I have bad news for you. Your father is under arrest—” The sentence remained unfinished, for he felt her hands drawn suddenly out of his, as she sunk fainting at his feet. He had laid her on her father’s bunk, and was endeavoring to restore her i when the constable made his appearance, attended informally by two citizens of Fairview. The constable, who was a tender-hearted man in his rough way, was very much impressed in this instance with the unpleasantness of his duty. : » “So she tuk it hard, did she, poor thing! I'm glad I didn’t see her faint away. Never could bear to have women- conmmicloooks.corn