Ralph Wilton's weird

"Ralph Wilton's weird " by Mrs. Alexander is a romance novel. Ralph meets a young girl after a train accident. She was going to take control of a young invalid son of a family in the neighborhood where Ralph lived. Ralph's persevering efforts to court Ella, as well as how he decided to pursue and assist her, are described in the story. The end is beautifully unexpected. Excerpt: «The yellow sunlight of a crisp October day was lighting up the faded though rich hangings, and the abundant but somewhat blackened gilding, of a large study or morning-room in one of the stately mansions of Mayfair, nearly fourteen years ago. Bookcases and escritoires, writing-tables and reading-tables more or less convenient, easy-chairs, print-stands furnished with well-filled portfolios, pictures, bronzes, all the signs and tokens of wealth, were there, but nothing new. An impress of extinct vitality was stamped upon the chamber and all it contained. The very fire burned with a dull, continuous glow, neither flaming nor crackling.»