Page:The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (emended first edition), Volume 1.djvu/191

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OF WILDFELL HALL.
179

"Did you see anything in her manner?"

"No, certainly; but then you know, I always said there was something strange about her."

I believe it was on that very evening that I ventured on another invasion of Wildfell Hall. From the time of our party, which was upwards of a week ago, I had been making daily efforts to meet its mistress in her walks; and, always disappointed (she must have managed it so on purpose,) had nightly kept revolving in my mind some pretext for another call. At length, I concluded that the separation could be endured no longer; (by this time, you will see I was pretty far gone) and, taking from the book case an old volume that I thought she might be interested in, though, from its unsightly and somewhat dilapidated condition, I had not yet ventured to offer it for her perusal, I hastened away,—but not without sundry misgivings as to how she would receive me, or how I could summon courage to present my-