A Struggle for a Ring — page 257: what you’re looking at

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

UNHAPPY. 253 CHAPTER XXXVII. UNHAPPY. The etiquette of the dinner-table had separated mother and son; Alice sat near Lady Waldrove, in order to supply any little gaps in that lady’s memory. Fortunately for her, the countess was not in a very communicative humor, so there was not any great demand on her attention; had there been, she must have covered herself with disgrace, for her whole attention was given to her husband and Lady Ethel. ‘They sat side by side, his dark, handsome head contrasting with her golden-haired one. They talked much, but she could not guess even the. nature of their conversation. One thing she did remark—they seldom or never looked at each other; Lady Ethel’s violet eyes ~ dropped always before the dark eyes of Lord Carsdale, and he never seemed seriously to seek her glance. He was very attentive to her, he was most chivalrous and gallant; but Alice could not tell whether there was mcre than she saw or not. One thing more was significant—once or twice he looked at her with a vague, unconscious glance; she knew, when his eyes rested on her face, there was not the faintest gleam of recognition in them—most certainly he did not know her. ‘‘T cannot suffer. any more,” she thought, ‘‘ having brought myself to realize that one fact that he does not know me; death itself holds nothing worse.” Once she saw their eyes meet, these two who had parted in sorrow and anguish by the shores of the shining sea, and Alice turned away, sick at heart. ‘There was some- eomicbooks (ee) m