Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 193: what you’re looking at

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

Wie As uy OCTAVIA’S PRIDE. | 183 a book bound in red morocco, covered with a gold clasp. When he opened the latter, it showed, instead of printed matter, lines of close, fine writing, with dates above the paragraphs. It was Doctor Morley’s diary. Mathew Merle chuckled as his hard fingers toyed with the fluttering leaves. ‘‘ It was an odd thing this should fall into my hands. It is worth a snug little income, if I do not mistake. But it will not make up the loss of the other. No, nothing but the other will make a fine gentleman of my George, and a gen- tleman he shall be! I will: hunt down that ungrateful minx! She shall marry him; she shall marry my George!” he man’s face changed wonderfully as he repeated the name of his only son; so that one who had only seen its hard, fierce expression, or its low look of subtle cunning, could hardly have believed it the same countenance. The sharp, bright eyes seemed to dilate and overspread with a softening haze, the cruel lines of the mouth un- wrinkled as by a magic power, and the warmth of the smile actually gave the whole face the very expression of tenderness which had hitherto seemed as foreign as the tropic aay of sunshine to the ice-bound poles. _**My boy—my own boy! He’s a boy any man would be proud of!” murmured Mathew Merle. ‘‘I’m doing all this for George. Not but he’s smart enough to make a way for himself; but [ mean he shall have more than money. He shall go as a gentleman in places where his father was only a servant. Ha! ha! we’ll see—we’ll see!” He read a moment or two, and the old sneer came back. “These grand people are no better than the common folks, after all. Couldn’t I make a sensation now in Lon- don by telling what I know? I am going to look at this lady Mary Falkner. I will honor you by a call, my lady, you may be sure of that. But I must find the girl first,” cS “comicboo co