A Fair Fraud — page 124: what you’re looking at

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

A Fair Fraud 113° but injudicious interference of his friends? That was the question which Marion Blake could in no wise answer satisfactorily to her- self. Mr Naylor had told her that it was her ‘duty’ to prevent such a marriage from taking place; but whilst her head told her that he certainly had a good case in favour of his own argument, Marion’s heart took a totally differ- ent view of the situation; and she was one of those women—long may they live and multiply — who invariably follow the instincts of the heart in preference to those of the head. She did not blame Mr Naylor at all. On the contrary, she perceived the truth and the justice of the side he took in the matter. Yet instinc- tively she ranged herself on the opposite side— the side of love and of constancy—instead of — the side of worldly wisdom and prudence. Yet . two things she did hope for from the bottom © of her heart. One was that Edgar Naylor would not act harshly and precipitately; and the other was that Hester Lane herself might prove equal to the self-sacrifice that her love—if it was a true love—might demand of her. ‘If she will give him up of her own accord, sooner than drag him down, then what a noble woman she will show herself to be!’ thought Marion ; and it is quite certain that in Hester’s place Marion would not have hesitated a H e COMNMUC JOO <S (GO) uu