An Act in a BackwaterBenson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
General
An Act in a Backwater
Benson, E. F. (Edward Frederic)
City and town life -- Fiction; Courtship -- Fiction; England -- Social life and customs -- Fiction; Siblings -- Fiction
The Avesham family manner of attending Cathedral was characteristic.
Miss Fortescue was always the first to start, and she reached her seat
in the choir five minutes before service began. She took with her a
Bible, a prayer-book, and a large tune hymn-book, and frowned
abstractedly at them all. Jeannie started about seven minutes after her,
and was almost invariably just late, so that she had to sit in the nave
close to the choir. Arthur considered it sufficient to arrive during the
first lesson, and he sat at the far end of the nave, where he could hear
nothing but the singing. It followed, therefore, as a corollary that he
left before the sermon. Jack on this particular morning proposed to stay
at home and go to the afternoon service. Thus, when Arthur came through
the garden on his way to the first lesson, he found him in a large
chair underneath the mulberry-tree. He paused a moment.
“Would it seem more hospitable if I didn’t go to Cathedral?” he asked.
“Remember, I rank hospitality very high among the cardinal virtues.”
“Be honest,” said Jack.
“Then perhaps I had better go to Cathedral,” he said. “But you might
have made it easier for me to stop. Well, good-bye; I shall come out
before the sermon.”
“I shall devote the time to silent meditation,” said Jack. “Where shall
I find cigarettes? I’ve run out.”
“In the smoking-room. But it’s distinctly bad manners to talk about
cigarettes to a fellow on his way to church. Have a novel and an iced
drink, too, won’t you? Don’t mind me.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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