The
greeting was very slight and cool on her side.
"Excessively handsome," whispered the captain. "A friend of
yours?"
"A schoolfellow," I said.
"Must be a pleasant thing, I declare, to have such handsome
schoolfellows," said the captain. "Beauty is a great thing,
isn't it? I wonder sometimes how the ladies can make up their
minds to take up with such great rough ugly fellows as we are,
for a set. How do you think it is?"
I thought it was wonderful too, when they were like him. But I
said nothing.
"Dress too," said the captain. "Now look at our dress!
Straight and square and stiff; and no variety in it. While our
eyes are delighted, on the other side, with soft draperies and
fine colours, and combinations of grace and elegance, that are
fit to put a man in Elysium!"
"Did you notice the colour of the haze in the west, this
evening at sunset?" I asked.
"Haze? No, really. I didn't know there was any haze, really,
except in my head. I get hazy amidst these combinations.
Seriously, Miss Randolph, what do you think of a soldier's
life?"
"It depends on who the soldier is," I said.
Pages:
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519