The Project Gutenberg eBook, A Pair of Patient Lovers, by William Dean
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Title: A Pair of Patient Lovers

Author: William Dean Howells

Release Date: June 16, 2006 [eBook #18605]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

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A PAIR OF PATIENT LOVERS

by

W. D. Howells

Author of "The Landlord at Lion's Head" "Ragged Lady" etc.

New York and London
Harper & Brothers Publishers
1901

CONTENTS

A Pair of Patient Lovers

The Pursuit of the Piano

A Difficult Case

The Magic of a Voice

A Circle in the Water

A PAIR OF PATIENT LOVERS

I.

We first met Glendenning on the Canadian boat which carries you down the
rapids of the St. Lawrence from Kingston and leaves you at Montreal.
When we saw a handsome young clergyman across the promenade-deck looking
up from his guide-book toward us, now and again, as if in default of
knowing any one else he would be very willing to know us, we decided
that I must make his acquaintance. He was instantly and cordially
responsive to my question whether he had ever made the trip before, and
he was amiably grateful when in my quality of old habitue of the route I
pointed out some characteristic features of the scenery. I showed him
just where we were on the long map of the river hanging over his knee,
and I added, with no great relevancy, that my wife and I were renewing
the fond emotion of our first trip down the St. Lawrence in the
character of bridal pair which we had spurned when it was really ours. I
explained that we had left the children with my wife's aunt, so as to
render the trav