Seeking enlightenment, and taking heart of faith, the verger assented in
the words, "Y-e-e-e-s,--I be-e-e-lieve so!" Then, his courage rising as
he felt himself committed to the fact, he continued, with emphasis and a
dictatorial nodding of the head, "Yes,--yes, he _was_."
Many and laughable are the instances of such perplexity and mistake
among the aged pieces of mechanism who have for years been sounding the
same tune to generations of unquestioning ears, and who, not having an
extra note in their gamut, can by no means bear to be played upon by
strange hands. Age has its exemptions and immunities, however; might
makes right, and one who has long been a dictator comes to be deemed an
infallible authority. So they whine on, and are oftener believed than
otherwise. As they constitute a class, and those whom I have to do with
are chiefly the exceptions, I will forbear to dwell on stereotyped
specimens, and turn to one so unlike the generality of her tribe, so
utterly lawless, so completely at variance with all her surroundings,
that I must beg leave to introduce her precisely as she introduced
herself.
* * * * *
There is an old place in England (there may be many such, but I know
there is one) which is consecrated to imagination, romance, and memory.
Pages:
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32