The Illegal Marriage — page 181: what you’re looking at

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

THE ILLEGAL MARRIAGE. 173 the prison. His mind flew back to the brief time he had spent there, a few hours before; and leaning against a tree, with folded arms, he gazed up at Cecy’s little window. Within, that little room had greatly changed since he was there. Thinking of him, of her past hopes, of her disappointment, of his goodness to her now, Cecy had sat long by that window; and leaning her head upon her hands, she lost herself in reverie. She started at length, thinking that she must have fallen asleep there, and glanced out into the street. But in an instant she sprang away and sank down into a chair. She had recognized the watching form without, and a painful thrill shot through her heart. In that moment she knew his love as well as if he had told it to her. “T love him yet!” she sobbed to herself; “I can deceive myself no longer. I have been mad!” Bowing her head for a moment, Cecy gave way to her tears. “T could have loved him so,” she thought, “for he is good, noble, and generous. He is one who wears well the grand old name of gentleman. But it is too late; 1am not worthy his love. It might have been, if—if ‘i She could not complete the thought, but blamed herself bitterly for her conduct in the past. And “it might have been, but it is too late now,” were the sorrowful words uttered by Stannard as he walked back to his hotel. Of course the Echaconnee tragedy made a great stir in the county, as well as in all that part of the State; and for many days the newspapers were filled with the particulars, as gleaned from “re- liable gentlemen,” giving the public to understand that there was scarcely a doubt of Miss Morgan’s ullt. ; P It turned out, they went on to say, that Mr. Mor- gan opposed her marriage with a certain young limb of the law, and that she had been heard to threaten her father if he opposed the match. It Eomicbooks (Eo) . . ee Ey on, i wl, Cae sad aft > ee