Weaker than a Woman — page 173: what you’re looking at

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

164 — WEAKER THAN A WOMAN. “Well, tell me when you will be quite alone, and I will come.” She found that Sir Owen and herself were seldom invited twice to the same place, and it dawned upon her very slowly that she should never be what she aspired to be, a queen of society, because she had a drawback in the shape .- of her own husband. She was slow in reaching that con- clusion, but it was a correct one, and she studied him, to find out, if she could, how it was that he made himself so - odious, so disliked. | She could not deny that his face was dark and almost sinister-looking, that his manner and carriage were awk- . ward, that he had an unpleasant voice; the outward ap- pearance of the man was, however, the best part of him. No one could have called him a gentleman; he was selfish and brutal, and so egotistical that in company no person ever had a chance of speaking but himself. He had two moods—he was either familiar and boasted until every man present felt a great desire to put him out of the room, ° or he was so sullen that to look at him was like looking at a great black cloud. That was Sir Qwen in his sober mo- ments, but, as the novel restraint of his young wife’s pres- ence wore off, he fell more frequently into his old fatal habit of drinking. At first he carefully concealed it from her, for in his coarse fashion he loved her. A woman of more noble soui perhaps would have made a better man of him—would have helped him to overcome his bad habits and acquire good ones. The woman who had married him, not for love, but simply for his money, had but one thought—it was to keep him in a good temper while it was feasible, and when it © was not to kee~ out of his way. CHAPTER XXX. FACE TO FACE. - The season was over, and Sir Owen and Lady Chevenix were expected at Garswood. By that time Sir Owen, to use his own expression, was himself again; the novelty and restraint of his new life had worn off, all his natural characteristics were in full play, and there were times when his young wife wished herself dead. She was not often driven to such despair, but occasionally he was terrible. Asa whole she enjoyed her life. She had money and everything that she wished for; she enjoyed her mag- ' Comicbooks.com |