Tales and Novels Belinda - 3 Author:Maria Edgeworth Volume: 3 General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1893 Original Publisher: G. Routledge Subjects: English fiction Fiction / General Fiction / Literary Fiction / Religious Fiction / Short Stories Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or... more » missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: CHAPTER XVII. RIGHTS OF WOMAN. Belinda was alone, and reading, when Mrs. Freke dashed into the room. "How do, dear creature ?" cried she, stepping up to her, and shaking hands with her boisterously -- "How do? -- Glad to see you, faith ! -- Been long here ? -- Tremendously hot today!" She flung herself upon the sofa beside Belinda, threw her hat upon the table, and then continued speaking. "And how d'ye go on here, poor child? -- Gad! I'm glad you're alone -- expected to find you encompassed by a whole host of the righteous. Give me credit for my courage in coming to deliver you out of their hands. Luttridge and I had such compassion upon you, when we heard you were close prisoner here! I swore to set the distressed damsel free, in spite of all the dragons in Christendom ; so let me carry you off in triumph in my unicorn, and leave these good people to stare when they come home from their sober walk, and find you gone. There's nothing I like so much as to make good people stare -- I hope you're of my way o' thinking -- you don't look as if you were, though ; but I never mind young ladies' looks -- always give the lie to their thoughts. Now we talk o'looks -- never saw you look so well in my life -- as handsome as an angel! And so much the better for me. Do you know, I've a bet of twenty guineas on your head -- on your face, I mean. There's a young bride at Harrowgate, Lady H , they're all mad about her; the men swear she's the handsomest woman ...« less