FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   >>  
in his arms, but he evaded him. Presently the door opened, the nurse entered, the child sprang from among the group, and ran with a laughing defiance to the farthest end of the room, and, leaning his chin on the billiard-table, flashed a look of defiant humour at his pursuer. Presently the door opened again, and the figure of the mother appeared. All at once the child's face altered; he stood perfectly still, and waited for his mother to come to him. Lali had not spoken, and she did not speak until, lifting the child, she came the length of the billiard-table and faced them. "I beg your pardon," she said, "for intruding; but Richard has led us a dance, and I suppose the mother may go where her child goes." "The mother and the child are always welcome wherever they go," said General Armour quietly. All the men had risen to their feet, and they made a kind of semicircle before her. The white-robed child had clasped its arms about her neck, and nestled its face against hers, as if, with perfect satisfaction, it had got to the end of its adventure; but the look of humour was still in the eyes as they ran from Richard to his father and back again. Frank Armour stepped forwards and took the child's hand, as it rested on the mother's shoulder. Lali's face underwent a slight change as her husband's fingers touched her neck. "I must go," she said. "I hope I have not broken up a serious conversation--or were you not so serious after all?" she said, glancing archly at General Armour. "We were talking of women," said Lambert. "The subject is wide," replied Lali, "and the speakers many. One would think some wisdom might be got in such a case." "Believe me, we were not trying to understand the subject," said Captain Vidall; "the most that a mere man can do is to appreciate it." "There are some things that are hidden from the struggling mind of man, and are revealed unto babes and the mothers of babes," said General Armour gravely, as, reaching out his hands, he took the child from the mother's arms, kissed it full upon the lips, and added: "Men do not understand women, because men's minds have not been trained in the same school. When once a man has mastered the very alphabet of motherhood, then he shall have mastered the mind of woman; but I, at least, refuse to say that I do not understand, from the stand-point of modern cynicism." "Ah, General, General!" said Lambert, "we have lost the chivalric way of saying t
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   >>  



Top keywords:
mother
 

General

 

Armour

 

understand

 

opened

 
Richard
 
Lambert
 

Presently

 
subject
 

humour


billiard

 

mastered

 
Captain
 

Vidall

 
talking
 

replied

 
speakers
 
wisdom
 

glancing

 

Believe


archly

 

refuse

 

motherhood

 

school

 

alphabet

 

chivalric

 

modern

 

cynicism

 

trained

 

revealed


mothers

 
gravely
 

struggling

 

hidden

 

things

 
reaching
 

kissed

 
perfect
 

length

 
lifting

spoken
 

suppose

 
pardon
 
intruding
 

waited

 

laughing

 
defiance
 

farthest

 
sprang
 

evaded