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Home Scenes and Home Influence; a series of tales and sketches by T. S. (Timothy Shay) Arthur
page 198 of 202 (98%)
involuntary utterance to the thought that instantly passed through
my mind. Just then I caught a glimpse of her face, that was partly
turned towards us. Though marked by disease and sorrow, it was yet
no common face. It still bore traces of womanly beauty, that no eye
could mistake.

"Poor Flora! what a history of disappointed hopes and crushed
affections is thine! What a lesson for the young, the thoughtless,
the innocent!" the old man said, as he retired from the window.

"Who is she?" I asked, after a brief pause.

"You have seen that beautiful old mansion that stands in--street,
just above--?"

"Yes."

"It is now used as an extensive boarding-house; but in my younger
days, it was one of the most princely establishments in the city. It
then stood alone, and had attached to it beautifully laid-out
grounds, stocked with the rarest and richest plants, all in the
highest state of cultivation. No American workman could produce
furniture good enough for its aristocratic owner. Every thing was
bought in Paris, and upon the most extensive scale. And truly, the
internal arrangement of Mr. T--'s dwelling was magnificent, almost
beyond comparison at the time."

"And was that the daughter of Mr. T--?" I asked, in surprise.

"Yes, that was Flora T--," the old man said, in a voice that had
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