My Insect Queen, by the Author of 'Margaret's Engagement'

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VII. ROLAND SPILLS HIS WINE. Sir Charles was called away to town, on the day before that fixed for his party, and it was postponed for a fortnight. On the day it came off, a man chose to get his arm crushed in a thrashing machine, (though, poor fellow, it was certainly not from choice) and I was...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER VII. ROLAND SPILLS HIS WINE. Sir Charles was called away to town, on the day before that fixed for his party, and it was postponed for a fortnight. On the day it came off, a man chose to get his arm crushed in a thrashing machine, (though, poor fellow, it was certainly not from choice) and I was called away to him, just as I was going to my room to dress, and Went- worth had to go without me, but with a promise that I would join the meeting before it broke up. In the time that had elapsed since his first arrival, I had presented my young friend to most of the families I visited, and was pleased to find him a decided success. Major Graysbrooke, a great authority on such matters, pronounced him to be a perfect gentleman, and gave him the entree to the Cedars, whenever he might like to avail himself of it. By the way, it strikes me, that the silly old Major is a great deal more liberal of such invitations to young men, than he ought to be, with a pretty motherless daughter, whose engagement is still a close secret. It is all very well for me to come and go at my own sweet will; I am an old friend of the house; but with lads like Roland Wentworth, and Frank Temple, the case is very different. All the selfish old goose thinks of, is to secure a partner at whist, or an adversary for chess or backgammon, and forgets that Monica is not to these youths the child she seems in his dim, watery old eyes. And yet, if either of them presumed to ask her hand of him, what a red hot seething rage he would go into For he does go into the most apoplectic rages, when his dignity isoffended, though he is as quick to forget offence as to resent it. But to return to my Assistant. It was a comfort to find, that his professional ability was in no degree inferior to his social merit...