BookRix

Two Days After The Last Recorded Interview Between Lord Ballindine And
His Friend, Dot Blake, The Former Found Himself Once More Sitting Down
To Dinner With His Mother And Sisters, The Honourable Mrs O'Kelly And
The Honourable Misses O'Kelly; At Least Such Were The Titular Dignities
Conferred On Them In County Mayo, Though I Believe, Strictly Speaking,
The Young Ladies Had No Claim To The Appellation.



Mrs O'Kelly Was A Very Small Woman, With No Particularly Developed
Character, And Perhaps Of No Very General Utility. She Was Fond Of Her
Daughters, And More Than Fond Of Her Son, Partly Because He Was So
Tall And So Handsome, And Partly Because He Was The Lord, The Head
Of The Family, And The Owner Of The House. She Was, On The Whole, A
Good-Natured Person, Though Perhaps Her Temper Was A Little Soured By
Her Husband Having, Very Unfairly, Died Before He Had Given Her A Right
To Call Herself Lady Ballindine. She Was Naturally Shy And Reserved,
And The Seclusion Of O'Kelly'S Court Did Not Tend To Make Her Less So;
But She Felt That The Position And Rank Of Her Son Required Her To Be
Dignified; And Consequently, When In Society, She Somewhat Ridiculously
Aggravated Her Natural Timidity With An Assumed Rigidity Of Demeanour.
She Was, However, A Good Woman, Striving, With Small Means, To Do The
Best For Her Family; Prudent And Self-Denying, And Very Diligent In
Looking After The House Servants.