His Grace — page 71: what you’re looking at

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

HIS GRACE. - 65 lead me into a small room on the ground-floor where, he said, we could talk without any fear of being inter- rupted. He handed me a cigar, pushed me into an arm-chair and began: “Now, I know very well what has brought you here, old chap. I’ve been outrunning the constable, and you've come all this way to lecture me, isn’t that it? Well, now you're here, you'll have to stop and help us to bring the grouse ,down, that’s all. Of course I’ve parted with a good lump of money; but it’s the first start that comes so expensive, don’t you see? Don’t you fret yourself; by this time next year I shall be quite a capitalist. That is, if I have any sort of luck.” I explained that, although his method of converting himself into a capitalist did not strike me as a partic- ularly promising one, it was not on that account that I had made so bold as to invite myself to Glendwinish. I had already informed him by letter of my mother’s death; I now thought it best to tell him quite candidly how I was circumstanced. I narrated the whole story of Nora’s engagement to Mr. Burgess and Lady Dever- ell’s proffered hospitality, concluding by saying that I was sure he would understand how necessary it was that I should hand in my resignation, now that it had be- come imperative upon me to take my sister under my wing. “My dear fellow,” he returned unhesitatingly, “there isn’t the slightest necessity in the world for you to resign your functions unless you want to resign them, I quite agree with you that you will have to get your sister away from that old tabby and her pet parson ; but what is to prevent her from joining you at Hurst- bourne? Surely the house is large enough to hold two EGOmuIe boo cS (e(0)