Verena in the Midst: A Kind of a StoryLucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)
General
Verena in the Midst: A Kind of a Story
Lucas, E. V. (Edward Verrall)
England -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction; Epistolary fiction; Invalids -- Fiction
And have you ever thought of the men who are tossed up and down all day
and all night on light-ships? To keep others safe. What a life and what
opportunities to the philanthropist!
Here is the poem, which, I trust, is not too sad:—
You come not, as aforetime, to the headstone every day,
And I, who died, I do not chide because, my friend, you play;
Only, in playing, think of him who once was kind and dear,
And if you see a beauteous thing, just say, he is not here.
Always “_à votre service_,” as the nice French officials say in the South,
R. H.
CXLIX
HAZEL BARRANCE TO NESTA ROSSITER
MY DEAR NESTA,—You needn’t worry about things here. They are going very
smoothly. Little stomach-aches and trifles like that; nothing more.
I had an unexpected and not too welcome visitor yesterday in the
somewhat Gothic shape of Horace Mun-Brown, who had discovered from
Evangeline where I was. He stayed to lunch—_your_ food and drink—and
talked exclusively of himself and his creative brain, both of which he
again laid at my feet. I suppose some men like the sensation of being
turned down, but I feel somehow that I should hate it. I mean as a
habit—and by the same person. Perhaps the shock to Horace’s egoism is
a kind of stimulant and he goes off and is more creative than ever. At
any rate he went away with his absurd head high in the air and what is
called a confident tread, and this morning came a long letter about his
latest scheme, which is to run a theatre called The Polyglot for plays in
foreign languages, in order to get the patronage of the various foreign
residents in London. One week a Greek play, for the Greek colony, then an
Italian, for the Italian, then a Russian, then an American, and so forth.
But he can carry this fatiguing project through successfully only if he
has my wifely co-operation and, I suppose, the necessary capital. But it
is the wifely co-operation that he insists upon and that I most cordially
resent.
Mrs. Urible is now more punctual and does not leave so early.
Poor Roy has just written to me about his broken heart. O that Irish
syren! But his heart mends very quickly.
I am bidden to tennis at Lady Sandys’ on Sunday. Some real Wimbledon men
who have engaged in mixed doubles with the marvellous Lenglen. This is
too exciting.—Yours,
HAZEL
CL
RICHARD HAVEN TO VERENA RABY
Now I am going to tell you the ghost story that the distinguished
Orientalist told Bemerton and Bemerton told me. I shall tell it as though
I myself were the owner of the fatal jewel—for that is the _motif_.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account