The evil in these things is, after all, the stir and the
talk, and all the unpleasant and vulgar gossip which inevitably attends
them."
Poor Edith cringed as if she had received a blow, and to cover her
emotion she gave the signal for rising from the table. But as she did
so, her eyes met those of Helen, and the truth leaped from one to the
other in one of those glances in which the heart, taken unaware,
reveals its joy or its woe with irresistible frankness. Whatever words
Edith and Helen might or might not exchange thereafter, the story of
Mrs. Fenton's married life and of the anguish of her soul was told in
that look; and her friend understood it fully.
XVII
THE HEAVY MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT.
Measure for Measure; iv.--10.
The temper of clubs, like that of individuals, changes from time to
time, however constant remains its temperament. Those who reflected
upon such matters noticed that at the St. Filipe Club, where a few
years back there had been much talk of art and literature, and abstract
principles, there had come to be a more worldly, perhaps a Philistine
would say a more mature, flavor to the conversation. There were a good
many stories told about its wide fireplaces, and there was much running
comment on current topics, political and otherwise. There was, perhaps,
a more cosmopolitan air to the talk.
Pages:
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178