Should She Have Left Him? — page 69: what you’re looking at

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

56 SHOULD SHE HAVE LEFT HIM? No doubt, with their anguish was mixed a little fear of those acrid stings the matron mothers would inflict when reproaching their dear daughters for their want of success, calmly ignoring that these failures were quite as much. due to their own lack of skill in manipulation—a skill which Mrs. Courtenay had exercised to the confusion and humiliation of her dear friends. In the -retirement of her own boudoir, Mrs. Courtenay, with pleasure and satisfaction, reviewed her triumph. It was er triumph because it was the result of her skill. Hilda might flatter herself that it was her own charms that had brought Walde. mar to her feet. Mrs. Courtenay was content that her daughter should remain in that blissful assur- ance, but that lady knew better; she knew only too well with what difficulty the young man had been brought to book; with what cleverness she had pre- cipitated the situation from which there was no escape except through proposal. Nor did she in her indulgence of a natural elation fail to appreciate that the assurance of security would not be hers until she had seen the two young people safely married. She could not deny Hilda the credit of being a most excellent and pliable instrument. That young woman had beauty, though not of so refined a type as that of Dorothy’s; and an air of fine distinction, which, if not of the dignity of her elder sister, yet, when tricked out for the course, was quite impressive. But she possessed that in ~ Dorothy was sadly deficient, a realizing sense COIN @ NOOKS (GO)