At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 151: what you’re looking at

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

140 AT A GIRL’S MERCY, he would not trust to her greeting. There were few she greeted other than kindly. It was the answer she would give him that should satisfy him, not the ‘ gentleness of her first few words. ‘It is good to know your mother is really so much improved,’’ he said, smiling, when they were seated, he on the wide chair with his back to the window, she on a divan where the light fell full upon her face. “It has been a weary time for you and your father, Miss Nan. Iam glad for both of you,.’’ She smiled slowly, her eyes meeting his kindly. Any one would be kind to another who said such pleasant words of her mother. Still, there was some- thing about him this morning that oppressed her, she knew not why. She toyed nervously with a fan that lay on the stand beside her. She couid not be herself, try as she would. , ‘“You are very good, Mr. Blake,’’ she said. ‘‘It is delightful to have mother again. Just think, it is such a long time since she was with us, and we wanted her so much just at this dreadful time, when we cannot know what day the papers might tell us of what we would not know—of what we would not have happen. Sometimes when I look over the list of wounded or killed, after some of these frightful battles, it seems as though the boys must bear charmed lives to go through so safely. I wonder if the war will never end.”’ “All things have an end,’’ Mr. Blake said, quietly, ‘feven such evils as this war, Miss Nan. But some- times it does seem as though it would last years longer. Every day brings some still more indisputa- ble proof of it. The Confederates have some marvel- _ ous generals, and will carry the thing as nearly to victory as they-can, that is why the war cannot end — ‘-comicbooks.co