The Works of George W. M. Reynolds — page 104: what you’re looking at

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

CHAPTER VII THE STRONG ROOM It was now close upon ten o’clock, and the old miser pro- ceeded to the strong room, which, as the reader will recollect, also served him as a bedchamber. He had to part on the following day with the sum of three thousand pounds, and though it was not his own money, yet there was something eratifying in the possession of it. He loved to feast his eyes on masses of shining gold, — that gold which was the idol of his egotistic worship. On the very first day that Mrs. Rayner attained her majority, he had drawn the sum of three thousand pounds from his banker, and had deposited it in his iron safe. A large portion was in the yellow specie; the remainder in bank-notes. The old man now sat down at the table to count over those notes and that gold from which he was to part on the morrow. He experienced a feeling very closely bordering upon affliction at the prospect of having to separate himself from so large a sum, but yet not for a moment did he entertain the thought of self-appro- priating it, nor did he regret having honourably performed the duties of guardianship in respect to that money and its rightful owner, whom he now supposed to be beneath his roof. But he sat down to count it, not merely to convince himself, for the tenth time since he had it in his possession, that it was correct, but likewise to have the gratification of fingering and contemplating it for the last time but one. We say but one, because the old man naturally expected that on the morrow he would have to count the money again when handing it over to its claimant, and then indeed for the last time. Meanwhile Mrs. Webber had ascended to her own cham- ber, making her footsteps sound with unusual heaviness 87 GoOmicdoo eS (C(O)