The Argosy, Vol. 50

This excerpt is Chapter XVII of "The House of Halliwell" by Mrs. Henry Wood, serialized in Argosy (July 1890). The narrative concerns Hester Halliwell, a schoolmistress, who discovers a dying clergyman in her home: Reverend George Archer, her former fiancé. Years earlier, Archer had been infatuated with Lady Georgina Seaford, who rejected him; Hester's engagement to Archer was consequently broken. Archer later married for financial security, served as an army chaplain in Spain, and has returned penniless and tubercular. During a private conversation, Archer confesses his regrets and begs Hester's forgiveness. After Archer and his impoverished family relocate, Hester encounters Lady Caudour (the now-titled Georgina) at a royal drawing-room in London, resplendent and seemingly untouched by time or consequence, while Archer languishes in obscurity.