That Girl of Johnson's — page 173: what you’re looking at

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

162 ss WHAT GIRL OF JOHNSON’S. flowers, when he stopped there of a morning, driving his cows to pasture, all well and good. Jim Lodie stood well in the neighborhood, and she had no fault to find. Had she known whose fingers placed them in water with many a kindly thought, and sent them to the little room where the invalid lay, not another flower would have fallen into her daughter’s hands, and Jim Lodie would have lost his full privilege in her house. But Johnson lingered along in much the same condition in spite of the interest of his friends or foes, from week to week, scarcely getting better, yet growing no worse. Dr. Dunwiddie knitted his brows and looked very grave and puzzled many a time after his visits; he did not like the appearance of things; they were going crooked; some- thing must be done and at once. He did not wish to arouse the thought of such a thing in the minds of Johnson him- self or Dolores; in fact he wished to keep it from Johnson more even than from his daughter, for he was in such an excitable state that it went much against his recovery— petulant, fault-finding, with many a word that showed his- brute nature and cruelty. At or against Dolores and fate his anger and spleen were directed. Dolores was of no use —no earthly use in the world; she was without even the sense of most women, and that was little enough. Had she been a boy things might have been different; boys were of use. And it was not enough that this ill luck of her being a girl was upon him, but he must have this added to the rest—to be laid up with not even the use of his feet or hands. Here he was, crippled, helpless, constantly in pain, scarcely able to move without pain, and there was his brother healthy, florid, a rich man, with a fine home and the comforts of life at his disposal. And what reason was there that his brother should have the gains and he the losses?) Was he not quite as deserv- ing and capable of appreciating them as he? Fate ‘was a powerful master, partial, and many times cruel in its de- - crees, Life was a pretty tough thing anyway, scarce worth - comicbooks.co