"So do I," he answered softly. "So do I." Locking his hands behind
his head, he raised his quiet face to the evening star. "Brave and
wise and gentle," he mused. "If I did not think to meet her again,
beyond that star, I could not smile and speak calmly, Ralph, as I do
now."
" 'T is a strange thing," I said, as I refilled my pipe. "Love for your
brother-in-arms, love for your commander if he be a commander
worth having, love for your horse and dog, I understand. But
wedded love! to tie a burden around one's neck because 't is pink
and white, or clear bronze, and shaped with elegance! Faugh!"
"Yet I came with half a mind to persuade thee to that very burden!"
he cried, with another laugh.
"Thanks for thy pains," I said, blowing blue rings into the air.
"I have ridden to-day from Jamestown," he went on. "I was the
only man, i' faith, that cared to leave its gates; and I met the world
- the bachelor world - flocking to them. Not a mile of the way but I
encountered Tom, Dick, and Harry, dressed in their Sunday
bravery and making full tilt for the city. And the boats upon the
river! I have seen the Thames less crowded."
"There was more passing than usual," I said; "but I was busy in the
fields, and did not attend. What's the lodestar?"
"The star that draws us all, - some to ruin, some to bliss ineffable, -
woman.
Pages:
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26