At sight of my uncle Jervas,
he halted, drew himself very erect and bowed profoundly and with a
flourish, and when he spoke his speech was so thick that I dreaded
lest he hiccough:
"Your servant, S' Jervas! Hope I see y' well, sir?"
My uncle's bow was extremely stately and distant.
"Peregrine," said he, "seeing you have--enlivening company, I will
take occasion to go and meet your aunt Julia. Mr. Vere-Manville, I
would venture to impress upon you that my nephew is still very much of
an invalid." So saying, my uncle saluted us in turn with his grandest
air and went out, closing the door behind him.
"Thinks I'm drunk, does he!" exclaimed Anthony, scowling after him.
"Well, what the devil--so I am, damned d-drunk and so much the
better--"
"So much the worse, Anthony!"
"Tush, you talk like a fool, Perry; better be drunk and forget than be
sober and a s-suicide--felo--felo-de-se, buried at cross road--stake
through your inside--devilish unpleasant business--"
"You talk like a madman, Anthony."
"And you like a f-fool, Perry! Here's you come back t' life like a
fool, instead o' dying comfortably and respectably like--wise man.
Here's you hoping and yearning to marry and that's the damndest folly
of all. Much better be comfortably dead--"
"For shame, Anthony--for shame!" cried I angrily. "If you have so lost
respect for yourself--at least think of and respect your wife--"
"Wife!" he exclaimed. "My wife!" and springing up out of the chair I
saw him tower above me, clenched hands upflung, his comely features
distorted and horribly suffused; then he lurched to the window and
leaned, choking, from the lattice.
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