FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   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   179   180   >>   >|  
say, give me the girl I love, and I will swear eternal constancy to her and her alone, through summer and winter, through youth and age, and life and death! if age and death must come.' He spoke this in such serious earnest that my heart bounded with delight; but the minute after he changed his tone, and asked, with a significant smile, if I had 'any more portraits.' 'No,' replied I, reddening with confusion and wrath. But my portfolio was on the table: he took it up, and coolly sat down to examine its contents. 'Mr. Huntingdon, those are my unfinished sketches,' cried I, 'and I never let any one see them.' And I placed my hand on the portfolio to wrest it from him, but he maintained his hold, assuring me that he 'liked unfinished sketches of all things.' 'But I hate them to be seen,' returned I. 'I can't let you have it, indeed!' 'Let me have its bowels then,' said he; and just as I wrenched the portfolio from his hand, he deftly abstracted the greater part of its contents, and after turning them over a moment he cried out,--'Bless my stars, here's another;' and slipped a small oval of ivory paper into his waistcoat pocket--a complete miniature portrait that I had sketched with such tolerable success as to be induced to colour it with great pains and care. But I was determined he should not keep it. 'Mr. Huntingdon,' cried I, 'I insist upon having that back! It is mine, and you have no right to take it. Give it me directly--I'll never forgive you if you don't!' But the more vehemently I insisted, the more he aggravated my distress by his insulting, gleeful laugh. At length, however, he restored it to me, saying,--'Well, well, since you value it so much, I'll not deprive you of it.' To show him how I valued it, I tore it in two and threw it into the fire. He was not prepared for this. His merriment suddenly ceasing, he stared in mute amazement at the consuming treasure; and then, with a careless 'Humph! I'll go and shoot now,' he turned on his heel and vacated the apartment by the window as he came, and setting on his hat with an air, took up his gun and walked away, whistling as he went--and leaving me not too much agitated to finish my picture, for I was glad, at the moment, that I had vexed him. When I returned to the drawing-room, I found Mr. Boarham had ventured to follow his comrades to the field; and shortly after lunch, to which they did not think of returning, I volunteered to a
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   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   179   180   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
portfolio
 

moment

 

Huntingdon

 

contents

 

unfinished

 
sketches
 
returned
 

valued

 
prepared
 

forgive


vehemently

 

insisted

 
distress
 

aggravated

 
directly
 

insulting

 
gleeful
 
deprive
 

merriment

 

length


restored

 

turned

 

drawing

 

picture

 

leaving

 

agitated

 

finish

 

Boarham

 

ventured

 

returning


volunteered

 
follow
 

comrades

 

shortly

 

whistling

 
careless
 

treasure

 
consuming
 

ceasing

 
stared

amazement
 

walked

 
setting
 
vacated
 

apartment

 

window

 
suddenly
 

confusion

 
reddening
 

coolly