A Struggle for a Ring — page 86: what you’re looking at

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

> 82 A SISTER'S ADVICE. ‘*he wants French dishes and Spanish wines. Mamma’s greatest idea of a feast is roast pork.” _She was bitterly annoyed, too, when Lord Carsdale in- vited the whole family to a grand dinner at the hotel, to which Mrs. Derwent went with all the remnants of finery she could collect—among other things, a pair of light kid gloves that had not one whole finger between them. ‘‘T would rather go with clean hands and no gloves,” said Hettie, scornfully, ‘‘than amuse Mr. Nelson with such gloves as those.” ‘You are a bad, ungrateful girl, I know what is due to society,’ said Mrs. Derwent, with the air of a martyr, ‘‘and I shall do my duty.” The whole family reached the hotel soon after the ap- pointed time, rather flushed with the struggle, but con- scious of looking their best. Frank wore an injured ap- pearance, in consequence of having been requested to go in a pair of his father’s dancing-pumps. ‘“As though a man could not have shoes of his own,” he remarked, more than once. That dinner was a source of great offense to Hettie. She was quite sure that Mr. Nelson had ordered French dishes because he knew they could not pronounce the names. Indeed, Hettie was so fiercely sarcastic, so abrupt, so purposely vulgar, that it was a relief to most of them when the dinner ended. Even then she was not content ; she followed Alice to her room. “<So, Mrs. Nelson, this elegant young husband of yours leaves us to-morrow, I understand ?” ‘¢Ves; he goes to-morrow,” said Alice. ‘* Do you feel quite sure that he will return ?” she asked, sneeringly. ‘‘Sometimes een those fine birds fly away, they never come back again.” (e(e) comicbooks