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    328 A STRANGE CHANCE.

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  • Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.

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    V _ Chapter I. On A Cloudless Morning 1 ...

    " And how old are you , Tommy ? " "I ' m . six" he replied in a tone betokening a very large idea of

    , the importance of seniority . When they returned again into the parlor , George Gilbert found

    himself very much perplexed as to the manner in which he -was to proceed with them . In the first instance he had been compelled to

    resort to the expediency of cakes and barley-sugar , but this was a system of bribery , which , even with children , an indomitable

    instinct of _honesty made him averse to using . From a clear sense of the double ¦ wrong' we commit in laying a false touch upon the

    existence of others , first , hy the insult so offered to thenx , and secondly , in the deterioration of our own naturewhich is the certain

    conse-, quence of any untrue position , he always sought to offer the sincerest truth to those with whom he came in contact . And now ,

    with this little child , how much did he desire that its soul had the strength of sight to look fairly in upon his own , and accept him

    and his purposes for what they simply were . He had a delicate feeling-tooabout caressing the child ; it would be a crime to touch

    even the , hand , of the woman he so much resembled with love , wife as she was to another ; and would there not be something like a

    trespass in laying his _lijDS upon her breathing miniature ? And many weeks passed before he pressed a kiss even on its little white

    forehead or tiny hand . He had a curious sense , too , of his own coarse - ness and awkwardness when near so frail and tender looking a thing ;

    it seemed as if he certainly must crush it like a butterfly or a flower if he laid one of his large bony hands upon it .

    The day passed off with remarkable success . Unaccustomed to indulgence and attention , it was natural the children should find

    themselves wonderfully happy while receiving so much kindness , and being moreover treated to what is generally a child's highest conception

    of pleasure , a ride in a coach . As evening drew on , Charley began to think of home and speak of returning to his mother . / But Tommy ,

    the veritable son , seemed to have no such affectionate desire : he was very fortune willing he had to drink someway as long stumbled as possible u _^ pon from . It the was cup onl of y mutual after much good

    gentle persuasion from Elizabeth that Charley could be induced to remain : the last overmastering temptation being the sight of a little

    cozy bed in the corner of her room , which he was to have to sleep in all to himself . As for Tommy , he was borne off home by his

    mother in a state of most reluctant distress . As the door fairly closed upon their exit , an expression of dismay

    started into Charley ' s face on finding himself actually left behind : them he was . strong Elizab l e y th disposed perceiving to cry this and lifted rush him out upon of the her room knee after and

    began to exercise all her talents , in the , way of amusement . She had considerable skill in cutting out figures of birds and animals ,

    and presently the table before them was converted into an

    extensive zoological garden , crowded with white paper lions , elephants ,

    328 A Strange Chance.

    328 A STRANGE CHANCE .

• Citation
  • English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Jan. 1, 1861, page 328, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01011861/page/40/