The String of Pearls; or, The Barber of Fleet Street — page 151: what you’re looking at

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

THE STRING OF PEARLS. — _ 14s 2 «<1 don’t know anything, save they are very unkind to me lately. , ‘‘' They have been very unkind to you, child, and I am sure I don’t know why, nor can | tell you why they have not told you of your fortune.’ , ““* My fortune,’ said 1; ‘ what fortune?’ : «Why, don’t .you know that when your poor aunt died you were her j favourite ?’ ) | «‘*T know my aunt loved me,’ I said; ‘she loved me, and was kind to me; but since she has been dead, nobody cares for me.’ “<* Well, my child, she has left a will behind her which says that all her for- tune shall be yours ; when you are old enough you shall have all her fine things ; you shall have all her money and her house.’ «Indeed! said 1; ‘who told you so?’ ““¢Qh, I have heard it from those who were present at the reading of the will, that you are, when you are old enough, to have all. Think what a great lady you will be then! You will have servants of your own.’ , <©¢ T don’t think I shall live till then.’ «¢¢QOh yes, you. will—or at least I hope so.’ | *««¢ And if I should not, what will become of all those fine things that you have | told me of ? Who'll have them ?’ “<¢ Why, if you donot live till you are of age, your fortune will go to your father and mother, who take all.’ ««¢ Then they would sooner I should die than live ?’ «<< What makes you think so?’ she inquired. ««« Why,’ said I, ‘they don’t care anything for me now, and they will have my fortune if | were dead—so they don’t want me.’ «“* Ah, my child!’ said the old woman, ‘I have thought of that more than once; and nowyou can see it. I believethat it will be so. There has many a word been spoken truly enough by a child before now, and I am sure you are right—but do you bea good child, and be careful of yourself, and you will always find that Providence will keep you out of any trouble,’ *©<T hope so, I said. «¢ « And be sure you don’t say who told you about this.’ s*¢ Why not,’ I inquired ; ‘ why may | not tell whotold me about it?’ *«« Because,’ she replied, ‘ if it were known that I told you anything about it, as you have not been told by them, they might discharge me, and I should be turned out.’ «<«T will not do that,’ I replied; ‘they shall not learn who told me, though I should like to hear them say the same thing.’ “¢« You may hear them do so one of these days,’ she replied, ‘ if you are not impatient: it will come out one of these days—two may know of it.’ «© «More than my father and mother ?’ «¢* Yes, more—several.’ «No more was said then about the matter; but I treasured it up in my mind. I resolved that I would act differently, and not have anything to do with tham— that is, I would not be more in their sight than I could help—I would not be in their sight at all, save at meal times—and when there was any company there I always appeared. 1 cannot tell why; but I think it was because I sometimes attracted the attention of others, and I hoped to be able to hear something re- specting my fortune; and in the end I succeeded in doing so, and then I was satis- fied—not that it made any alteration in my conduct, but I felt I was entitled to a fortune. How such an impression became imprinted upon a girl of eight years of age; I know not: butit took hold of me, and I had some kind of notion that I was entitled to more consideration than I was treated to. | ‘*“ Mother,’ said I one day to her. ** Well, Mary, what do you want to tease me about now ?’ **¢ Didn’t Mrs. Carter the other day say that my aunt left mea fortune ?” *“ What is the child dreaming about?’ said my mother, ‘ Do you know what you are talking about, child ?—you can’t comprehend,’ | comicbooks.com