FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   197   198   199   200   201   202   203   204   205   206   207  
208   209   210   211   212   213   214   215   216   217   218   219   220   221   222   223   224   225   226   227   228   229   230   231   232   >>   >|  
n of that distinguished warrior and statesman, Colonel Jermain Fiske. Sylvia read this announcement in the Society Column of the La Chance _Morning Herald_, with an enigmatic expression on her face, and betaking herself to the skating-pond, cut grapevines with greater assiduity than ever, and with a degree of taciturnity surprising in a person usually so talkative. That she had taken the first step away from the devouring egotism of childhood was proved by the fact that at least part of the time, this vigorous young creature, swooping about the icy pond like a swallow, was thinking pityingly of Eleanor Hubert's sweet face. CHAPTER XXI SOME YEARS DURING WHICH NOTHING HAPPENS Judith had said to the family, taking no especial pains that her sister should not hear her, "Well, folks, now that Sylvia's got through with that horrid Fiske fellow, I do hope we'll all have some peace!" a remark which proved to be a prophecy. They all, including Sylvia herself, knew the tranquillity of an extended period of peace. It began abruptly, like opening a door into a new room. Sylvia had dreaded the beginning of the winter term and the inevitable sight of Jerry, the enforced crossings of their paths. But Jerry never returned to his classes at all. The common talk was to the effect that the Colonel had "worked his pull" to have Jerry admitted to the bar without further preliminaries. After some weeks of relief, it occurred to Sylvia that perhaps Jerry had dreaded meeting her as much as she had seeing him. For whatever reason, the campus saw young Fiske no more, except on the day in May when he passed swiftly across it on his way to the Hubert house where Eleanor, very small and white-faced, waited for him under a crown of orange blossoms. Sylvia did not go to the wedding, although an invitation had come, addressed economically and compendiously to "Professor and Mrs. Marshall and family." It was a glorious spring day and in her Greek history course they had just reached the battle of Salamis, at the magnificent recital of which Sylvia's sympathetic imagination leaped up rejoicing, as all sympathetic imaginations have for all these many centuries. She was thrilling to a remembered bit of "The Persians" as she passed by the Hubert house late that afternoon. She was chanting to herself, "The right wing, well marshaled, led on foremost in good order, and we heard a mighty shout--'Sons of the Greeks! On! Free your country!'"
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   190   191   192   193   194   195   196   197   198   199   200   201   202   203   204   205   206   207  
208   209   210   211   212   213   214   215   216   217   218   219   220   221   222   223   224   225   226   227   228   229   230   231   232   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Sylvia

 

Hubert

 
proved
 

family

 

sympathetic

 

Eleanor

 
dreaded
 
passed
 

Colonel

 
mighty

reason

 
campus
 

marshaled

 

swiftly

 

foremost

 

admitted

 

worked

 
effect
 

country

 
common

preliminaries

 

meeting

 

Greeks

 

occurred

 

relief

 

remembered

 

thrilling

 

history

 

glorious

 
spring

Persians
 

reached

 

battle

 

rejoicing

 

leaped

 
imagination
 

Salamis

 

magnificent

 
recital
 
centuries

Marshall

 

orange

 

blossoms

 

waited

 

wedding

 

economically

 

compendiously

 

Professor

 

classes

 

afternoon