The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of HimFord, Paul Leicester
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The Honorable Peter Stirling and What People Thought of Him
Ford, Paul Leicester
Labor movement -- Fiction; Love stories; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction; Political fiction; Tenement houses -- Fiction
Then he ground at the law till six, when he swung his clubs and
dumb-bells for ten minutes; took a shower; dressed himself, and dined.
Then he went into his study, and opened a drawer. Did he find therein a
box of cigars, or a bunch of violets, gold-piece, ribbon and sheet of
paper? One thing is certain. Peter passed another evening without
reading or working. And two such idle evenings could not be shown in
another week of his life for the last twenty years.
The next day Peter was considerably nearer earth. Not that he didn’t
think those eyes just as lovely, and had he been thrown within their
radius, he would probably have been as strongly influenced as ever. But
he was not thrown within their influence, and so his strong nature and
common sense reasserted themselves. He took his coffee, his early
morning ride, and then his work, in their due order. After dinner, that
evening, he only smoked one cigar. When he had done that, he remarked
to himself—apropos of the cigars, presumably—“Peter, keep to your work.
Don’t burn yourself again.” Then his face grew very firm, and he read a
frivolous book entitled: “Neun atiologische und prophylactische Satze
... uber die Choleræpidemien in Ostindien,” till nearly one o’clock.
The following day was Sunday. Peter went to church, and in the
afternoon rode out to Westchester to pass the evening there with Mrs.
Costell. Peter thought his balance was quite recovered. Other men have
said the same thing. The fact that they said so, proved that they were
by no means sure of themselves.
This was shown very markedly on Monday in Peter’s case, for after lunch
he did not work as steadily as he had done in the morning hours. He was
restless. Twice he pressed his lips, and started in to work very, very
hard—and did it for a time. Then the restlessness would come on again.
Presently he took to looking at his watch. Then he would snap it to,
and go to work again, with a great determination in his face, only to
look at the watch again before long. Finally he touched his bell.
“Jenifer,” he said, “I wish you would rub off my spurs, and clean up my
riding trousers.”
“For lohd, sar, I done dat dis day yesserday.”
“Never mind, then,” said Peter. “Tell Curzon to ring me up a hansom.”
When Peter rode into the park he did not vacillate. He put his horse at
a sharp canter, and started round the path. But he had not ridden far
when he suddenly checked his horse, and reined him up with a couple of
riders. “I’ve been looking for you,” he said frankly. Peter had not
ceased to be straightforward.
“Hello! This is nice,” said Watts.
“Don’t you think it’s about time?” said Leonore. Leonore had her own
opinion of what friendship consisted. She was not angry with Peter—not
at all. But she did not look at him.
Peter had drawn his horse up to the side on which Leonore was riding.
“That is just what I thought,” he said deliberately, “and that’s why
I’m here now.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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