At a Girl's Mercy, or, The Fortunes of War — page 182: what you’re looking at

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

5, * ‘4 - = ea - \ * AT A GIRL’S MERCY. 171 ger were not over, for you have enough to worry you without a lot of home troubles. Well, to begin at the beginning, and I always think of that sweet little Nan— Did you know she has gone, too, to the hospital down there, and I suppose knows nothing of this that I am going to tell you? Well, you know now, anyway, Nell, that our little sunny Nan is doing the very work you are at, and that she has longed so much to do, though during her mother’s illness she never mentioned it. Butas soon as Mrs. Court- land—you don’t know how much paler and sweeter and frailer she looks, Nell—as soon as Mrs. Court- land recovered so as to be up in her chair, and grow- ing stronger every day, and gave her free consent with that of the squire—you know he would give his very heart if the war needed it, Nell—our little Nan went away to the hospital, where she heard they needed most the services of nurses, whether experi- enced or not. She said she could never go on any pretense of being an experienced nurse, and so she went there. Itis farther down south than you are, Helen, though I cannot tell you just where; but, no doubt, Nan herself will write and tell you all about it when she gets the time. And now to the story I started to tell you. You know how I go from one subject to another in my letters. Ned always said so, you remember. Dear old Ned! I would give anything to have him here this minute, and you, too, Nell. Well, it seems—but I don’t dare even to write it in a letter—the squire was to a certain ex- tent against the dreadful riot there was in the city, and in some way they found this out, and tried to revenge themselves. He found out what they were soing to do long before they had struck a blow, and was prepared to defend the city with the rest of those who were aware of the danger, though some laughed the danger to scorn, saying the mob would never dare revenge itself for the drafting of the men, But they did. Some people don’t know every- thing, if they think they do. And so one day they broke into riot. The papers were full of it. It lasted some time, but Squire Courtland was in the midst of the militia, and they had the mob quiet by and by, Eomicbooks.¢o =}