Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral Tales — John Shaqi
Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral TalesEdgeworth, Maria
General
Tales and Novels — Volume 01: Moral Tales
Edgeworth, Maria
Fiction
Our hero broke from Dr. Campbell and Henry with the strength of an
enraged animal from his keepers; and he must have found his way home by
instinct, for he ran on without considering how he went. He snatched the
light from the servant who opened the door at Dr. Campbell's--hurried
to his own apartment--locked, double-locked, and bolted the door--flung
himself into a chair, and, taking breath, exclaimed, "Thank God! I've
done no mischief. Thank God! I didn't knock him down. Thank God! he
is out of my sight, and I am cool now--quite cool: let me recollect it
all."
Upon the coolest recollection, Forester could not reconcile his pride to
his present circumstances. "Archibald spoke the truth--why am I angry?
why _was_ I angry, I mean!" He reasoned much with himself upon the
nature of true and false shame: he represented to himself that the
disorder which disfigured his hands was thought shameful only because it
was _vulgar_; that what was vulgar was not therefore immoral; that the
young tittering ladies who shrunk back from him were not supreme judges
of right and wrong; that he ought to despise their opinions, and he
despised them with all his might for two or three hours, as he walked
up and down his room with unremitting energy. At length our peripatetic
philosopher threw himself upon his bed, determined that his repose
should not be disturbed by such trifles: he had by this time worked
himself up to such a pitch of magnanimity, that he thought he could
with composure meet the disapproving eyes of millions of his
fellow-creatures; but he was alone when he formed this erroneous
estimate of the strength of the human mind. Wearied with passion and
reason, he fell asleep, dreamed that he was continually presenting
flowers, which nobody would accept; awakened at the imaginary repetition
of Archibald's laugh, composed himself again to sleep, and dreamed that
he was in a glover's shop, trying on gloves, and that, amongst a hundred
pair which he pulled on, he could not find one that would fit him.
Just as he tore the last pair in his hurry, he awakened, shook off his
foolish dream, saw the sun rising between two chimneys many feet below
his windows, recollected that in a short time he should be summoned to
breakfast, that all the lady-patronesses were to be at this breakfast,
that he could not breakfast in gloves, that Archibald would perhaps
again laugh, and Flora perhaps again shrink back. He reproached himself
for his weakness in foreseeing and dreading this scene: his aversion to
lady-patronesses and to balls was never at a more formidable height; he
sighed for liberty and independence, which he persuaded himself were
not to be had in his present situation. In one of his long walks he
remembered to have seen, at some miles' distance from the town of
Edinburgh, a gardener and his boy, who were singing at their work.
These men appeared to Forester to be yet happier than the cobbler, who
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