The Freemason's Daughter: A Novel — page 282: what you’re looking at

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

THE FREEMASONS DAUGHTER. 2765 Mary’s sisterly love—Mrs. Bowles’s affectionate, quiet sympathy—together with William’s frank and manly friendship, were almost more than she could bear. Her heart was full; it seemed, indeed, as if God had heard the dying widow’s prayer, and raised up friends for her orphan child. That same evening, after tea, when William Bowles, who now regularly returned to Burnley every evening, was comfortably seated upon the sofa (happy rascal! ), between the two fair girls, Mary recounted to him, in her lively, graphic manner, Mrs. Small’s visit and invitation. “Which Amy refused, of course?” he exclaimed. ‘Did she!” replied the narrator, who had not quite forgotten her habit of teasing him. © She sha’n’t go,” said her lover, with his usual blunt- ness. ‘‘I am sure she has no wish to go—have you, Amy? I wonder, mother,” he added, addressing the old lady, who was knitting at the table by the side of his father, who was absorbed in an article on the cotton market in the newspaper, “how you could sanction such a thing, especially after what I had told you.” Mrs. Bowles repressed her inclination to smile. «What should Amy do at the Smalls ?” he continued ; ‘‘a narrow-minded, puritanical set, who have some interested motive, although I can’t divine it, for asking her. But you won’t go, will you, Amy?” “No,” was the quiet, gentle reply. ‘‘T was sure not,” he exclaimed; “ and no head less T 2 COUN Goo! SS (SO