The Man in Possession — page 100: what you’re looking at

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

THE MAN IN POSSESSION. Q5 round the fire like brilliant plumaged birds, leaving her to look at albums and books as she pleased. _Lady Jocelyn noticed this, and it amused her. ‘How foolish they are to show their jealousy! It will only put the girl on her mettle,” she thought. She sat down beside Kate and began to talk to her. As the conversation invariably tended to her son’s perfections and good qualities, it did not specially interest her companion, who had formed her own opinion of the young man, and was not to be con- verted toanother. Presently the group round the fire broke up into twos and threes. The young lady with a talent for the banjo pro- duced that delectable instrument, and proceeded to ‘‘strum” upon it with more zeal than proficiency. Some of the others were discussing toilettes for the dance the next evening. The plumpest of the dowagers settled themselves into chairs capacious and comfortable enough for their portly frames, and proceeded to discuss the latest town scandal with gusto, and—additions; the latter gleaned from private correspondence. Miss Rivers, or, as every one called her, ‘‘ Miss Judy,” suddenly pounced upon a seat close to Kate and Lady Jocelyn, and dispensing with the ceremony of introduction, began to talk to her across the placid stream of Lady Jocelyn’s murmured platitudes. ‘‘ Your father and I have discovered we're com- patriots, Miss O’Brien,” she said, in her genial ringing tones; ‘‘so I’m not going to be under compliment to anybody for an introduction. He tells me you've not been to Ireland since you were a child.” COMicloe So! ‘ yO