Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 202: what you’re looking at

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

192 OCTAVIA'S PRIDE I have flamed at him in fierce but unavailing indignation— now I have trembled and shivered only at the sound of his coming step! All that I could fear, and dread, and loathe, George Merle has taught me. He made my child-life so miserable and forlorn that, all unknowing of the great secrets of death, I prayed my poor little heart out beseech- ing Heaven to let me die. He went away to a great school when I was fourteen, and from that time to this every year I had peace and quiet, and learned to find a little joy in life. -And now, Mathew Merle of a sudden tells me I am to marry George, and be rich, and happy, and honored. If he thrust me upon the brink of a bottomless pit, I should not shrink back in such horror. Marry George Merle I would not, if I had only the alternative of thrusting a dag- ger into my own breast. I said so~passionately and defiantly, and then Mathew Merle, who had hitherto left me pretty much alone, became this pitiless, tyrannical ruler from whom I have tried to escape. He took me all of a sudden, without a single word of explanation, from our quiet home in Bombay, and brought me to England. I made no objec- tion, but rather rejoiced in the change, especially when I found that George was to remain behind. But I soon found it was but a change of persecutions. Oh, sir, what can be the reason they are so set upon my misery? It is not love for me. It would be the bitterest of mockery for them to pretend that George Merle wishes to marry me because he loves me. What is it then? ‘‘T have tortured my brain almost to frenzy trying to solve the mystery. When I came to England I had high hopes. I can hardly tell you how wild they were, but I meant to discover for myself my birth, my true home. I had two things to help me—a locket and my mother’s Bible, which one of Mathew Merle’s servants gave me on her death- bed, and told me to hide from her master. With these for “my magic keys, I meant to unlock some proud and beautiful = comicbooks (ace)