Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 61: what you’re looking at

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

OCTAVIA’S PRIDE. 51 am I not a man, Miss Wainwright, with a man’s capabili- ties, and rights, and deservings?” She was wrapping the scarf around her, and made no answer. ““ Yes,” continued he, his eyes gleaming, and the color coming back to his face. ‘‘ Now that the seal is broken from my lips, for this once you shall hear what I wish to say. Ilove you! I shall always love you! Until my heart ceases to beat it will throb beneath its unalterable devotion to you. Be you ever so cold and haughty, I shall hope still sometime to win your favor. | shall never cease working to bring about the realizationgof the one desire of my life— never!—unless the sod covered you, and then I should die and follow you!” The words came with fierce impetuosity. Huis breast was heaving beneath his emotion. Miss Wainwright could not be insensible to the fervor of this man’s devotion. She knew that it was genuine, with- out any affectation; but somehow it did not flatter her as such idolatrous love would have pleased the vanity of other women. She turned upon him coldly, with scarcely repressed anger: ‘This rhapsody had better have remained unspoken, Mr. Thorne. It will prevent any further intimacy between us, and, when my father recovers, it will oblige him to find a new secretary.” “Cruel! hard! pitiless!” ejaculated Felix, with lips which quivered pitifully. ‘‘Oh, why can I not despise and detest you asl ought? But Icannot. I can no more resist this mad, overwhelming love than I can prevent my heart from beating.” His yoice was a wailing cry as he concluded. For the first time, she seemed to feel an impulse of com- ae | comirebooks