The Landlord at Lion's Head — CompleteHowells, William Dean
General
The Landlord at Lion's Head — Complete
Howells, William Dean
Artists -- Fiction; Massachusetts -- Fiction
“Oh yes--Westover. Thought we left Westover at Mrs. Enderby's. Thought
it was that jay--What's his name? Durgin. He's awful jay, but civil
to me, and I want be civil to him. You're not--jay? No? That's right.
Fellow made me sick; but I took his champagne; and I must show him
some--attention.” He released the door-handle, and fell back against
the cushioned carriage wall. “He's a blackguard!” he said, sourly.
“Not--simple jay-blackguard, too. No--no--business bring in my sister's
name, hey? You--you say it's--Westover? Oh yes, Westover. Old friend of
family. Tell you good joke, Westover--my sister's. No more jays for me,
no more jags for you. That's what she say--just between her and me, you
know; she's a lady, Bess is; knows when to use--slang. Mark--mark of a
lady know when to use slang. Pretty good--jays and jags. Guess we didn't
count this time--either of us.”
When the carriage pulled up before Miss Lynde's house, Westover opened
the door. “You're at home, now, Lynde. Come, let's get out.”
Lynde did not stir. He asked Westover again who he was, and when he had
made sure of him, he said, with dignity, Very well; now they must get
the other fellow. Westover entreated; he even reasoned; Lynde lay back
in the corner of the carriage, and seemed asleep.
Westover thought of pulling him up and getting him indoors by main
force. He appealed to the coachman to know if they could not do it
together.
“Why, you see, I couldn't leave me harsses, sor,” said the coachman.
“What's he wants, sor?” He bent urbanely down from his box and listened
to the explanation that Westover made him, standing in the cold on the
curbstone, with one hand on the carriage door. “Then it's no use, sor,”
the man decided. “Whin he's that way, ahl hell couldn't stir um. Best go
back, sor, and try to find the gentleman.”
This was in the end what Westover had to do, feeling all the time that
a thing so frantically absurd could not be a waking act, but helpless
to escape from its performance. He thought of abandoning his charge and
leaving him, to his fate when he opened the carriage door before Mrs.
Enderby's house; but with the next thought he perceived that this was
on all accounts impossible. He went in, and began his quest for Jeff,
sending various serving men about with vague descriptions of him, and
asking for him of departing guests, mostly young men he did not know,
but who, he thought, might know Jeff.
He had to take off his overcoat at last, and reappear at the ball. The
crowd was still great, but visibly less dense than it had been. By a
sudden inspiration he made his way to the supper-room, and he found Jeff
there, filling a plate, as if he were about to carry it off somewhere.
He commanded Jeff's instant presence in the carriage outside; he told
him of Alan's desire for him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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