The Freemason's Daughter: A Novel — page 200: what you’re looking at

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

THE FREEMASONS DAUGHTER. 193 widow made the last observation. She had called to accompany her young companions to school. “ Mr. Gridley is very mad—you should only hear him go on.” ““T’ve heard him often enough, my dear,” replied Mrs. Bentley, “ raving at night, when all the lodgers were in bed; but I never paid any attention to it— it was only the gin: the next morning he wor all right again.” “But it’s not the gin now,” observed the child; ‘for he don’t get any.” “* Perhaps it’s the want of it ?” said Meg. There was more truth in the observation than the poor woman was aware of—few confirmed habits are to be suddenly and entirely broken at once with impunity : as the progress in dissipation is progressive, so, to be permanent and healthy, should be the cure. ** But how do you know, Lizzy?’ demanded Mrs. Bentley’s little girl—the same who had sent the poor old clerk the orange. ‘‘Why—why,” replied the child, ‘‘I crept slily to the door of the cell, to speak with him. At first he talked just as usual: said he was not mad, and asked me to give him pen and paper to write something with.”’ ‘‘And did you ?” ‘“<T gave him a leaf from my copy book and pencil— and oh, such writing! Why it ain’t writing at all! And when I told him that poor Mr. Lawrence was dead— VOL I. O COniiclooecl SS (SO