His Grace — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

3a HlS GRACE. CHAPTER III. HIS GRACE AND HIS MOTHER. AFTER what had been told me I anticipated a rather painful interview with my mother, and it is not unlikely that she may have anticipated a painful interview with me. If so, it was, I hope, as great a relief to her as it was to me to find our respective apprehensions ground- less. Wonderfully little passed between us upon the subject of Nora’s proposed marriage. She said, with an appealing glance at me, that she believed all had been arranged for the best, and I refrained from putting forward a contrary opinion; then something was said about Nora’s love for children, and the respect and affection with which she had always regarded Mr. Bur- gess ; it was further stated by one of us, and assented to by the other, that a considerable disparity of age between husband and wife constitutes no necessary drawback to matrimonial felicity; finally, the para- mount importance of securing a home for one who might any day be left destitute was recognized on both sides ; after which we hastened to speak about other matters. I suppose the truth was that we were both heartily ashamed of ourselves. | And yet my mother, poor old lady, had no such great reason to feel ashamed. ‘This preposterous union had Eomichoo cS (E(0) im