Fast eBooks

"Give me the sorrows of the
poor and afflicted," was her cry; "the gaiety of the hollow world jars me
more than I can bear." But now she caught with a sort of eagerness at
this invitation. "Accept. They shall not say I am wearing the willow."
"My brave girl," said Mrs. Dodd joyfully, "I would not press it; but you
are right; we owe it to ourselves to outface scandal. Still, let there be
no precipitation; we must not undertake beyond our strength."
"Try me to-night," said Julia; "you don't know what I can do. I dare say
_he_ is not pining for _me._"
She was the life and soul of the party, and, indeed, so feverishly
brilliant, that Mrs. Dodd said softly to her, "Gently, love; moderate
your spirits, or they will deceive our friends as little as they do me."
Meantime it cost Alfred Hardie a severe struggle to keep altogether aloof
from Julia. In fact, it was a state of daily self-denial, to which he
would never have committed himself, but that he was quite sure he could
gradually win his father over. At his age we are apt to count without our
antagonist.
Mr.


Pages:
198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222