His Other Wife: A Novel — page 253: what you’re looking at

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

‘Sai ; AN UNFUST STEWARD. 245 tives and friends as a visitor, than to combat the icy courtesies and ill-concealed mistrust with which she felt she must contend if she made her permanent home in the South; and, being a gentleman of elegant leisure, Colonel Morgan was content to spend the long summers in travel or at a popular resort, flying southward with the swallows at the season when the orange groves and myrtle hedges are at their most attractive stage, and inspiring dreams of the Oriental gardens. ' A few months previous to the commencement of this story, Mrs. Morgan had made an unusually heavy draft upon the revenues of her Southern estates for the purpose of refitting her elegant Northern home. To. her great astonishment, she was informed by her lawyer that it could not be honored, and that, through her reckless extravagance, her property was entirely bankrupt. Mrs. Morgan’s health, already very miserable, utterly broke under the shock of this cruel news; but, without making it known to her daughter, whom she blindly adored, she decided to make a visit to Florida for the purpose of investigating her affairs. The day after her arrival, Mr. Croft received a note requesting him to call at Lucerne. He saw no one but Mrs. Morgan, and was appalled to behold her shattered condition of health. She taxed him with singular un- kindness in not sooner apprising her of her declining fortunes. He replied ; GComicbooks: (E(@)