Fineness of mind that will not admit the
unescapable minor dirts of living, however much it may see them, a mind
temperate with reticence and gentleness, seeing not life itself but its own
delighted dream of it, a heart that had had few shocks as yet, and never
the ones that the heart must be mailed or masked to withstand. The thing
that passed had been continually sheltered, exquisitely guarded from the
stronger airs of life as priests might guard a lotus, and yet it was
neither tenderly unhealthy nor sumptuously weak. A lotus--that was it--and
Hook Nose stood looking at the lotus--and because it was innocent he filled
his eyes with it. And then it passed and its music went out of the mind.
"_Ted_!"
"What? What? Oh, yeah--sorry, Elinor, I wasn't paying proper attention."
"You mean you were asleep, you big cheese!" from Peter.
"I wasn't--just thinking," and seeing that this only brought raucous mirth
from both Peter and Oliver, "Oh, shut up, you apes! Were you asking me
something, El?"
It was rather a change to come back from Elinor in scarab robes being
carried along in a litter to Elinor sitting beside him in a bathing suit.
Pages:
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67