FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76  
77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   >>   >|  
of men's necks on the top of a car, in full view of the whole world. They descended and strolled on further. There was no crowd now to hinder them, and they were curious to see what this far-stretching thoroughfare led to. "So far it seems a broad stretch of mean quaintness. I had no idea London was so big. And what grimy side streets! I shudder to think of the grimy network that lies on either hand. Morgan, I feel a very immoral person." "Your emotions are strangely unpredictable." "What right have I to forty thousand a year when there are people starving in these back streets?" asked Lady Thiselton indignantly. "I am going to turn Socialist." "You are not." "I am." "You'll never abandon individualism." "Of course not. I'd never think of parting with that. But I really don't see why I shouldn't be a Socialist as well. I pity those poor, benighted beings that have room in their narrow souls for only one set of opinions. I like to be everything, to hold every 'ism,' and to be labelled all over with every 'ist,' like the window of that 'eating-house' yonder. Which reminds me of my dinner party to-night. Isn't it terrible to eat in Belgrave Square when some people have to eat in a place like that. It's positively wicked. I have an idea. I think I can't do better than inaugurate my new 'ism' by lunching there to-day. Suppose we do so on our way back." "But _I_ never confessed to be converted to socialism," he protested. "Why it's a dear little eating-house, a perfect love of a place." "I take it for granted you wish to meet your guests to-night with a smiling face," he warned her. "The consciousness of having had the courage of my 'ism' will fill me with such a glow of goodness that I cannot fail to appear a veritable Madonna. Of course, you know I am counting on you." "No." "Yes." "No." "But I haven't filled up the place. I've been relying on nagging you into coming." "You know I don't want to," he grumbled yieldingly. "But I want you to. Don't be angry, dear," she went on, coaxingly. "Haven't I amused you the whole time?" He ended by promising to come, if not incapacitated by the lunch, and felt fairly secure of passing the evening at home. After they had wandered about for some time longer and had paid pennies to see a curious compound animal, a sort of ox, sheep, horse, donkey and goat rolled into one, and an abnormally fat woman, more decently clad than the life-size col
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76  
77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   89   90   91   92   93   94   95   96   97   98   99   100   101   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

eating

 

Socialist

 

people

 
curious
 
streets
 

granted

 
donkey
 

guests

 

consciousness

 

warned


smiling
 

perfect

 

rolled

 

confessed

 

lunching

 
Suppose
 

decently

 

abnormally

 

courage

 
protested

converted

 
socialism
 

relying

 

evening

 

nagging

 

passing

 

filled

 
amused
 

secure

 

yieldingly


coming

 

fairly

 

grumbled

 

animal

 

promising

 

incapacitated

 

coaxingly

 

goodness

 

veritable

 

longer


wandered

 

counting

 

compound

 

Madonna

 

pennies

 

network

 
Morgan
 

shudder

 

quaintness

 

London