Full resolution (TIFF) - On this page / på denna sida - Chapter XXIV. Assessor Wirén's reply.
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200 TttE SKJUTS-BOY.
one of those happy gifted beings, whom the Creator brought
forth in a peculiarly friendly moment, whe## a gayer and warmer
stm shone over thc dhnncss of carth, then I should considcr you
the most unhai)i)y of husbands. :But your incomprehcnsible
gayness and lightness of mind m-e the cause why your lot api)ears
less dark fo you than to #ne.’ ]{erc the little knife she held fell
from ber hand, and whca I stoopcd down to take it from the
floor, I bccame aware of two equally remarkable facts, wMch
drew my serious atteation, as wcll as excitcd my highesç sur-
prise. In ber thoughtlesness, she had ruade a cut in the frill–
and on it was a spot–the si)or of a tea# from Yirgin]a’s eye !
"As incrediblc as this may appear fo you, i# is true, neverthe-
less; but what could bave caused this emotion ? was if wounded
pride, or thc first knowledge of hcr own mind, which came upon
ber suddenly, when the scales were violently torn from ber cyes ?
or was it–? Thcre is a third supposition, but I do hot wish fo
mention ît, for it borders,on impo.#sibility, and God save me from
such a susi)icion , which probably, nay, ccrtainly, would be the
utmost injustice toward ber. Suflîcc if to say that that spot was
indeed there, and iç may be I)resumed that she must highly
estecm the one whosc opinions could cause ber so much excite-
ment, when she is usually as rigid as marble.
"’ Yh’g[uia,’ said I, with dcep feeling, ’ I SUli)i)ose it grievcs you
very much that my dearest friend refuses an invitation fo corne
fo our bouse with such disgust, and speaks in such terres of my
wife. Am I hot right #’
" ’ Yes, certMnly you are right,’ she replied, composedly ; ’ but
Wirén, I did not know th#t you were considcred so unhapi)y;
and still less did I know that I was not like other women. I
cannot help it, however.’ She had never spoken so much before;
and placing every word together that #e h#d spoken during the
three yem’s of our marri#ge, there would not lie so much feeling
in them as in this single expression. ’ But, ¥irginia, if you feel
# coldness within your heart, thon warm if on mine,’ said I
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