The Man in Possession — page 178: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE MAN IN POSSESSION. 173 cavaliers and courtiers. I surmise it did, and you're all the worse for it. They drink too much, smoke too much, gamble too much. They call it ‘ bad form’ to show any feeling, and their hates and their loves, their bills and their dishonour, are alike settled in the law courts. Its very funny—it really is.” ‘‘ T suppose it must seem so,” said Kate. ‘¢Now in our country,” persisted Mrs. Lafaye, ‘‘men do work. We don't despise energy, or sniff at new ideas, or throw obstacles in the way of invention. Certainly we're always at see-saw—one day win a pile, next day lose it. But our young men don't go sniffing after girls’: money-bags and sneering at,women as no better than they should be. They marry a girl, dollars or no dollars, if they loveher. But here, why, any woman can buy your younger sons and your best titles if they've got a certain amount of dollars a year. I’ve had twenty-three proposals in six months, and all titles. Just because ‘ Wales,’ as they call him, said a good word for me, and it got whispered about Lafaye’s silver mines out in Nevada. Itisn’t me they care about any one of them ; it’s the dollars they want to finger.” ‘* You've read the world very accurately,” said Kate. ‘‘ It certainly is very disappointing.” ‘‘T spose there are a few good fellows here and there just to keep things going,” said Mrs. Lafaye. ‘* But they're scattered about like the currants in the stuff they give the sailors on board ship. Plum-duff I think they call it. A great deal of ‘duff’ and very few plums. When are you going to be fixed-off? Married, I mean,” she added abruptly. COMicloe (Sri C(O)