A Social Meteor — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

A SOCIAL METEOR. 125 she took possession of her villa, and did not return until she was gone, for fear of meeting her. This story found more believers than the first, because Peter’s own life would seem to bear it out, better than the other. He paid almost no attention to young women, preferring the com- panionship of the wives of his friends, none of whom were particularly remarkable for their good. looks, and whose lives were above suspicion. | It was the rarest thing in the world for him to ex- press even a passing admiration for any girl, and if by chance a bright, pretty face attracted him once in a while, it was only a question of time when he would interest the damsel in some bach- elor friend of his, matrimonially inclined. He was devoted to his church, which was extremely high, and in which he was one of the bright and shining lights. He would cross him- self in all seriousness on the slightest occasion, much to the amusement of his companions, and was known to do much good among the poor. Another peculiarity of his was his love of early rising. Every day, winter and summer, he would get up at six o’clock and take long walks, accom- panied only by his dogs. When asked for the Eomichbooks (E(0)