"This, Mr. EDWIN," said he, with marked emotion, "is a stay-lace, with
golden tags, which belonged to Miss FLORA'S mother. It was handed to me,
in the abstraction of his grief, by Miss FLORA'S father, on the day of
the funeral; be saying that he could never bear to look upon it again.
To you, as Miss FLORA'S future husband, I now give it."
"A stay-lace!" echoed EDWIN, coming forward as quickly as his lameness
would allow, and staunching his swollen upper lip with a handkerchief.
"Yes," was the grave response. "You have undoubtedly noticed, Mr. EDWIN,
that in every fashionable romance, the noble and grenadine heroine has a
habit of 'drawing herself up proudly' whenever any gentleman tries to
shake hands with her, or asks her how she can possibly be so majestic
with him. This lace was used by Miss FLORA'S mother to draw herself up
proudly with; and she drew herself up so much with it, that it finally
reached her heart and killed her. I here place it in your hands, that
you may ultimately give it to your young wife as a memento of a mother
who did nothing by halves but die.
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