FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124  
125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   >>   >|  
ay of closing; to make it so would be to deprive ourselves of the greatest opportunity. Your freedom for one entire day in the week should be guaranteed. 'I offer this because I should like to have you working with me, and because I believe that such work would be more to your taste than that in which you are now occupied. It would, moreover, leave you a good deal of time for study; we are not likely to be overwhelmed with readers and borrowers during the daytime. But you will consider the proposal precisely as you would do if it came from a stranger, and will accept or reject it as you see fit. 'I leave town to-day for about a week. Will you write to me at the end of that time?--Always yours, my dear Grail, 'WALTER EGREMONT.' Mrs. Grail showed no curiosity about the letter; the subject of the interrupted conversation held her musing. When Gilbert had folded the sheets, and, in the manner of one who receives few letters, returned it to its envelope, he said: 'Yes, it's about the library. He's taken the house for seven years.' His mother murmured an expression of interest. For another minute the clock on the mantel-piece ticked loud; then Gilbert rose, and without saying anything, went out. He entered his bedroom. The darkness was complete, but he moved with the certainty of habit to a chair by the head of the bed, and there seated himself. Presently he felt a painful surging in his throat, then a gush of warm tears forced its way to his eyes. It cost him a great effort to resist the tendency to sob aloud. He was hot and cold alternately, and trembled as though a fever were coming upon him. In a quarter of an hour he lit the candle, and, after a glance at himself in the glass, bathed his face. Then he took down his overcoat from the door, and put it on. His hat, too, he took, and went to the parlour. 'I have to go out, mother,' he said, standing at the door. 'I'll be back by supper-time.' 'Very well, my dear,' was the quiet reply. He walked out to the edge of the pavement, and stood a moment, as if in doubt as to his direction. Then he looked at the upper windows of the house, as we saw him do one night half a year ago. There was a light this time in the sisters' room. He turned towards Lambeth Walk. The market of Christmas Eve was flaring and clamorous; the odours of burning naphtha and fried fish were pungent on the wind. He walked a short distance among the crowd, then found the noise opp
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   100   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124  
125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
mother
 

Gilbert

 

walked

 
coming
 
glance
 
candle
 

surging

 

trembled

 

painful

 

quarter


tendency
 
seated
 

effort

 

resist

 

throat

 

forced

 

Presently

 

alternately

 

Lambeth

 

market


Christmas
 

flaring

 

turned

 
sisters
 

clamorous

 
odours
 
distance
 

naphtha

 

burning

 

pungent


standing

 

supper

 
parlour
 
overcoat
 

looked

 
windows
 

direction

 

pavement

 

moment

 

bathed


expression

 

borrowers

 
daytime
 

readers

 
overwhelmed
 
proposal
 

precisely

 

reject

 
stranger
 

accept