Sitting, as he does, next to the young girl, and next but one to the calm
lady who has her in charge, he cannot help seeing their relations to each
other.
That is an admirable woman, Sir,——he said to me one day, as we sat alone
at the table after breakfast,——an admirable woman, Sir,——and I hate her.
Of course, I begged an explanation.
An admirable woman, Sir, because she does good things, and even kind
things,——takes care of this——this——young lady——we have here, talks like a
sensible person, and always looks as if she was doing her duty with all
her might. I hate her because her voice sounds as if it never trembled,
and her eyes look as if she never knew what it was to cry. Besides, she
looks at me, Sir, stares at me, as if she wanted to get an image of me
for some gallery in her brain,——and we don’t love to be looked at in
this way, we that have——I hate her,——I hate her,——her eyes kill me,——it
is like being stabbed with icicles to be looked at so,——the sooner she
goes home the better. I don’t want a woman to weigh me in a balance;
there are men enough for that sort of work. The judicial character isn’t
captivating in females, Sir. A woman fascinates a man quite as often
by what she overlooks as by what she sees. Love prefers twilight to
daylight; and a man doesn’t think much of, nor care much for, a woman
outside of his household, unless he can couple the idea of love, past,
present, or future, with her. I don’t believe the Devil would give half
as much for the services of a sinner as he would for those of one of
these folks that are always doing virtuous acts in a way to make them
unpleasing.——That young girl wants a tender nature to cherish her and
give her a chance to put out her leaves,——sunshine, and not east winds.
He was silent,——and sat looking at his handsome left hand with the red
stone ring upon it.——Is he going to fall in love with Iris?
VI.
The young man John asked me to come up one day and try some “old Burbon,”
which he said was A 1. On asking him what was the number of his room,
he answered, that it was forty-’leven, sky-parlor floor, but that I
shouldn’t find it, if he didn’t go ahead to show me the way. I followed
him to his _habitat_, being very willing to see in what kind of warren he
burrowed, and thinking I might pick up something about the boarders who
had excited my curiosity.
The young man John fell into a train of reflections which ended in his
producing a Bologna sausage, a plate of “crackers,” as we Boston folks
call certain biscuits, and the bottle of whiskey described as being A 1.
Under the influence of the crackers and sausage, he grew cordial and
communicative.
It was time, I thought, to sound him as to our boarders.
What do you think of our young Iris?——I began.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account