His Other Wife: A Novel — page 252: what you’re looking at

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

244 AN UNY¥UST STEWARD. j less, when her widowhood rendered it necessary to rely upon the knowledge and judgment of some man in busi- ness matters, she readily accepted the appointed guardian of her interests, and never for one moment questioned his integrity or competency. | Remaining abroad with her daughter for years after her husband’s death, and subsequently residing in one of the Northern States, of which she was a native, Mrs. Morgan left the conduct of her affairs so entirely to Mr. Croft, that she was not even aware of the extent of her income, or the extravagance of her expenditures, until] a very little while before her death. Although the first years of her married life had been happily spent in Florida, Mrs. Morgan had never been able to assimilate her tastes and feelings with the com- munity of which her husband was a conspicuous member. Perhaps it was even more difficult then than now for members of the opposite factions, and natives of the dif- ferent sections of the Union, to harmonize their views of life and social ethics. | Considering the unyielding prejudice of the one section, and the lack of adaptability in the other, it was not then, and is not now, remarkable that an intangible barrier of reserve exists, more obstinate and real than can be found between peoples of a separate and distinct nationality. Women are even more invincible in political and social differences than men. It therefore suited Mrs. Morgan far better to come occasionally among her husband’s rela- GComicbooks: (E(0) mM a)