Lord Rotherwood was an extraordinary figure,
in an old shooting jacket of his uncle's, an enormous pair of
fishing-boots of William's, and the broad-brimmed straw hat, which
always hung up in the hall, and was not claimed by any particular
owner.
Maurice displayed to Jane the contents of two phials, strange little
creatures, with stranger names, of which he was as proud as Reginald
of his three fine trout. Lord Rotherwood did not appear till he had
made himself look like other people, which he did in a surprisingly
short time. He began estimating the weight of the fish, and talking
at his most rapid rate, till at last Claude said, 'Phyllis told us
just now that you were coming back, for that she heard Cousin
Rotherwood talking, and it proved to be Jane's old turkey cock
gobbling.'
'No bad compliment,' said Emily, 'for Phyllis was once known to say,
on hearing a turkey cock, "How melodiously that nightingale sings."'
'No, no! that was Ada,' said Lilias.
'I could answer for that,' said Claude. 'Phyllis is too familiar
with both parties to mistake their notes. Besides, she never was
known to use such a word as melodiously.'
'Do you remember,' said the Marquis, 'that there was some great
lawyer who had three kinds of handwriting, one that the public could
read, one that only his clerk could read, and one that nobody could
read?'
'I suppose I am the clerk,' said Claude, 'unless I divide the honour
with Florence.
Pages:
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