Temple Bar (Volume 32) (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1871. Excerpt: ... as if impatient at the delay--or possibly dreading that Harcourt might refuse to see her--walked into the room, and presented herself before him. At first sight her features seemed not unknown to him, but he could not remember where he had seen her. His doubt, however, might have arisen from the state of nervous agitation the woman seemed to be in. She was ghastly pale, her lips quivered, and there was an expression of intense indignation on her countenance. As soon as the servant had closed the door, she said to Harcourt: "You recognise me I suppose, sir?" "Candidly," he replied, "I do not. Your features are perfectly well known to me, but where I have met you I do not remember." "And yet it was only yesterday you saw me," said the visitor. "But no wonder, after the shock I have received, that you should have forgotten me so soon. My name is Parker, and I was lately housekeeper to Mrs. Matthews. You saw me yesterday at the funeral, though God knows, as I said before, since then I have had trouble enough to change my features out of all recognition "--and here the woman, throwing herself on a chair, put her hands to her face, and burst into a flood of tears. Harcourt was so much moved at the sight of her sorrow, that he advanced towards her and tried to console her. As soon as she had somewhat recovered, she said to him: "You have no reason, sir, for attempting to comfort me, for I have been your enemy all through. I also readily admit it was no love I bore you or yours that induced me to come here this morning and, acknowledging that I have wronged you, give myself up as a prisoner. But," she continued, clenching her hands, in a paroxysm of fury, "I will myself rather suffer any misery than allow that villain Desbrow to go unpunished " "Think coolly what...