Americans -- England -- Fiction; Diary fiction; England -- Description and travel -- Fiction; Love stories
At four o'clock we attended even-song at the cathedral. I shall not say
what I felt when the white-surpliced boy choir entered, winding down
those vaulted aisles, or when I heard for the first time that intoned
service, with all its "witchcraft of harmonic sound." I sat quite by
myself in a high carved-oak seat, and the hour was passed in a trance of
serene delight. I do not have many opinions, it is true, but papa says I
am always strong on sentiments; nevertheless, I shall not attempt to tell
even what I feel in these new and beautiful experiences, for it has been
better told a thousand times.
There were a great many people at service, and a large number of
Americans among them, I should think, though we saw no familiar faces.
There was one particularly nice young man, who looked like a Bostonian.
He sat opposite me. He didn't stare,--he was too well bred; but when I
looked the other way, he looked at me. Of course I could feel his
eyes,--anybody can, at least any girl can; but I attended to every word
of the service, and was as good as an angel. When the procession had
filed out and the last strain of the great organ had rumbled into
silence, we went on a tour through the cathedral, a heterogeneous band,
headed by a conscientious old verger who did his best to enlighten us,
and succeeded in virtually spoiling my pleasure.
After we had finished (think of "finishing" a cathedral in an hour or
two!), aunt Celia and I, with one or two others, wandered through the
beautiful close, looking at the exterior from every possible point, and
coming at last to a certain ruined arch which is very famous. It did not
strike me as being remarkable. I could make any number of them with a
pattern, without the least effort. But at any rate, when told by the
verger to gaze upon the beauties of this wonderful relic and tremble, we
were obliged to gaze also upon the beauties of the aforesaid nice young
man, who was sketching it. As we turned to go away, aunt Celia dropped
her bag. It is one of those detestable, all-absorbing, all-devouring,
thoroughly respectable, but never proud Boston bags, made of black cloth
with leather trimmings, "C. Van T." embroidered on the side, and the top
drawn up with stout cords which pass over the Boston wrist or arm. As
for me, I loathe them, and would not for worlds be seen carrying one,
though I do slip a great many necessaries into aunt Celia's.
I hastened to pick up the horrid thing, for fear the nice young man would
feel obliged to do it for me; but, in my indecorous haste, I caught hold
of the wrong end and emptied the entire contents on the stone flagging.
Aunt Celia didn't notice; she had turned with the verger, lest she should
miss a single word of his inspired testimony. So we scrambled up the
articles together, the nice young man and I; and oh, I hope I may never
look upon his face again!
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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