Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 262: what you’re looking at

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

sickly, care-worn woman, and he was lying in his far-off. ‘ 1 om ae Pa Mee fees be a al Ga Pe ale | alg ees ee ER” bee Ee 7 ees ee 8 ee oe AY aM ae her ma ce CSI AC RN Yh GAM Uae Dat Say ABE Le lhe teal Bata ae alist Seance > : > ye Cay : > - 52 2 ~ : S51 Pe ay te ee ~s* 4 ‘ A Wa te ee Pe vate ; J tat eowh PAs te, ae on iy my he iy %) a Lue id, 202 | OCTAVIA’S PRIDE. «« Ahem, I should like to talk with you, sir,” said Gen- eral Wainwright, making a great effort to speak in an in- different tone. ‘‘ Your reminiscences will be of much in- terest to me. . Will you come to my private sitting-room?” ‘“No,” answered Mathew Merle, hotly. ‘‘I will talk in private with none of you; what I have to say shall be before you all, and Ican promise you 1t does not lack interest.” Lady Mary had thrust the papers into her pocket, and sat with her hands across the diary, pressing it against her heart, looking around almost like one without knowledge of what was taking place before her eyes. She had read the first page with its faded lines; the second, in her own hand- writing, of a girlish frolic, and this present to Arthur Mor- ley, and his promise to fill it out accurately with the story of his life. Oh, the years, the wrongs, the woes between that day toward which it carried her back, as if with the fresh- ness of yestefday, and this, wherein she sat there, a faded, Australian grave! No wonder, with all this past pressing upon her, her eyes were dazed, and her ear dulled to what was passing in the room before her. ‘| think, noble earl, this General Wainwright is soon to. be connected with your family,” went on Mathew Merle, ‘sneeringly, in his high, shrill voice. ‘*‘ Report says that Lord Ronald Falkner is soon to lead to the hymeneal altar the beantiful and wealthy heiress of Wainwright Slope. Does report speak truth?” ‘It does,” answered the earl, indignantly, ‘‘ but what is that to you?” ‘* Lord Ronald Falkner and. the heiress of Wainwright Slope!” repeated, Mathew Merle, and burst into a long, loud laugh, whose insolence made the earl turn white with Tage, and lay his hand on the bell-rope. “ Ring away,” said Mathew, scornfully, ‘‘if you like to oiCce) mi Ls icbooks 5. \y OA YAP it 4 #s 40) As . ‘ 3% a 7 a) t a } f Ne ih a Ru oe up ay. hone