His Grace — page 233: what you’re looking at

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

HIS GRACE. 227 CHAPTER XVIII. ASSAULT AND BATTERY. ONE does not pretend—at least I don’t pretend— to solve all the enigmas which are forever cropping up before one, as one wends one’s straightforward way through the intricacies of a complicated world. Some of them are not worth solving ; others demand a sacri- fice of time and ingenuity which cannot be bestowed upon them; all things considered, it is best, as a gen- eral rule, to wait for the development of events. So, although I do not deny that my curiosity had been stimulated by several of the episodes which had marked Lady Deverell’s ball, I made no effort to allay it, know- ing very well that I should hear all I wanted to hear before I was much older. As a matter of fact, I had to wait no longer than until the ensuing afternoon, when Hurstbourne entered my little writing-room, carrying a letter in his .hand, which he said he wished me to read. “Tt was brought to me half an hour ago,” he ex- plained. “I shouldn’t wonder if the whole thing was an infernal lie; but whether it’s a lie, or whether it’s true, it must be looked into. Just read what the fellow says, and give me your opinion about it, will you?” “S (E(0) m Gomichboo