The Man in Possession — page 95: what you’re looking at

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

go THE MAN IN POSSESSION. quite content that he should win her if he had elected todo so. At least it would relieve her mind from its perpetual dread of one day finding herself pre- sented with a daughter-in-law drawn from the front rank of the ballet, or the “starry” firmament of music-hall fame. Kate O’Brien was well born, beautiful, and of unexceptionable manners. She would do credit to her son’s establishment, and steer him through the shoals of social difficulties. True, she was poor and quite unknown to society as represented by the ‘‘smart” set to which she herself belonged, but Once married and presented, that difficulty would be set at rest, and the seal of fashion would do all that remained to be done for her success. However, it would not do to let Sir Wilfred see that she was pleased, or be ready too welcome his choice. She gave in to-night, under protest, but resolved that the next day she would exert her ingenuity to invent a few difficulties and obstacles, so that the weak youth should once in his life be forced to make some exertion to win favours, that as a rule, were too readily granted to be of any value. Sir Wilfred went downstairs radiant and hopeful, and pleased with the idea that he was going to cut out that ‘‘d——-d Brewery fellah” as he called Tom Rivers, not to mention the Irish rival in the back- ground. As luck would have it, Kate was alone in the draw- ing-room when her host and hostess entered. Lady Jocelyn paid her a graceful compliment on her COMicloe (Sri C(O)