"
"Have you heard him tell the story? No? Then take my word for it, you
have not heard the facts of the case."
"Ah! you are prejudiced against her?"
"On the contrary, I like her. But I know that with all women the present
lover is an angel and the past a demon, and so on in turn. And I know
that if Satan were to enter the women of the stage, with the wild idea of
impairing their veracity, he would come out of their minds a greater liar
than he went in, and the innocent darlings would never know their
spiritual father had been at them."
Doubtful whether this sentiment and period could be improved, Sir Charles
parted with his friend, leaving his sting in him like a friend; the
other's reflections as he sauntered home were not strictly those of a
wise, well-balanced mind; they ran in this style:
"When she said, 'Is not that to praise my person at the expense of my
wit?' I ought to have said, 'Nay, madam; could your wit disguise your
person, it would betray itself, so you would still shine confessed;' and
instead of that I said nothing!"
He then ran over in his mind all the opportunities he had had for putting
in something smart, and bitterly regretted those lost opportunities; and
made the smart things, and beat the air with them. Then his cheeks
tingled when he remembered that he had almost scolded her; and he
concocted a very different speech, and straightway repeated it in
imagination.
Pages:
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66