Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 94: what you’re looking at

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

84 | OCTAVIA’S PRIDE. a slim, rather unprepossessing man of middle age, but he was a grand witness, clear, unwavering, concise. ‘The most adroit cross-questioning did not shake his testimony. ‘This Mathew Merle had solemnly assured him that he himself was present at the marriage; had declared that General Geoffrey Wainwright had no valid claim to the property, and showed him plainly how the grandson of Augustus Middleton was the true heir before any children of his. younger brother. There was no question that this viii bes made a deep im- pression. Felix turned his glittering eye upon Miss Wainwright, and was startled to find that though her beautiful color had fled from her face she was still cool and smiling. His card was played and it was not a trivial or worthless one. Now what was coming from the other side? Some- thing of importance—he felt it, he knew it, and he could have shaken his father for the triumphant air with which he looked over to Scattergood, who was twirling a pencil carelessly in his fingers. Scattergood only made a little signal to his associate, who went out for a moment into the anteroom, and returning, ‘produced a witness for their own side. A legal practitioner from a neighboring town, who, after taking the oath, stood ready to respond to the questioning. “Do you know the last witness, the man still aang below by the side of the pillar?” “Ido. It is James Ferguson, son of. Noah and Cath- erine Ferguson, of Cornwall.” “State the circumstances of your acquaintance with him.” ‘<I was counsel for the crown in a suit brought against him for forgery.” «* How did the suit end?” comicbooks.co