The Child of Waterloo, or, The Horrors of the Battle-Field — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

bi THE CHITD OF WATERLOO, younk child of the battle-field, and again rejoined the regiment n which her husbana served. Of course it became quite a settled thing in the neighborhood that the child was Mr. Morton’s, and some blamed him furiously id having it in the house, while others as vehemently praised im. Still he kept his own counsel, and with a rare discretios, Raf- ferty kept his, so that no one was at all aware of the real facts of the case. When Henry Morton married, however, surprise reached its climax, for everybody, of course, then supposed that the child would be sent off, but no such thing occurred; and, to the in. tense astonishment of everybody, Mrs. Morton was seen leading about the little Mabel, then five years old, with an air of the greatest fondness and affection for it. Some were indignant, some pretended to look wise, and to shake their heads, as if they knew some solution of the mystery, which they meant to keep entirely to themselves; and some ladies of the neighborhood went so far as to cut the acquaintance of Mrs. Morton for her want of spirit. Sbe ought, they contended, to have turned out of the house the little girl the moment she came home. But then women are so dreadfully virtuous—especially when they reach a certain age—that they forget altogether to be charitable, But Mrs. Morton and her husband lived together in the eatest harmony and paid not the least attention to all these insinuations; so that in time the more sensible people ceased to speak or think about it; and the orphan child, who had been so happy in finding kind friends, was called Mabel Morton as naturally as if she were one of the most acknowledged and well- known members of the family. And so she grew in years and beauty, and was the delight of both Mr. and Mrs. Morton, who had but one child of their own, which they had lost at an early age. They never had another, and so the full tide of their affections was strangely enough cast upon those who, in one case, had no natural claim at all, and, in the other, only a collateral one. Charles Morton and Mabel—the two happiest hearts that ever beat—were attached playmates, brought up together completely as brother and sister, and receiving all the care and attention from Mr. and Mrs. Morton, as if they had been their own children. But although Morton would sooner have parted with all he possegsed in the world besides than with Mabe! Morton, as she was called, yet 16 must not be supposed that he had made no effort to discover who and what she was. These efforts, though, he had made with great secrecy and caution. It was ro gratify a natural curiosity he did so, and not to awaken any claimant for his young charge. It will be recollected by the reader that all he knew of Mabel consisted in the very brief conversation he had had with the wounded French officer, and that he had said so httle, in conse- quence of the dreadful state be was in, that even whether he was her father or not was a doubtful point. The young female “~ - 0 comicbooks. com