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Article LONDON PLATITUDES. ← Page 9 of 13 →
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London Platitudes.
which distinct words were occasionally jerked up like corks in a current , went on around me . Austrian frontier ; mackerel at Dublin ; lions of the desert ; Tennessee ; Caffreland ; Capel Coru-t and morris-dances ; these and other "hints" upon which parties , like Othello , were dilating , were addressed to few Desdemonas , if to as compliant old
gentlemen as the irascible Brabantio himself . I am an absent individual , needing a " flapper , " and apt to fall into a reverie over my dinner , especially if it he at a party . This is a disadvantageous habit , as is at once apparent , for soup cools . Moreover , vivacity is some recommendation at a dinner-tablewhere everybodis to speak and
, y everybody to listen . I acquitted myself tolerably well . Like a lazy champion in a tilting-ground—a " noir faineant "—I could languish my hit when people fell in my way . I made no exertion out of my corner . The seeker satisfied , I
" carried my sword as if it had been a mere wooden pole . Next me was a fat , pursy old gentleman , who fidgeted in his chair , looked me full in the face , with great round eyes , when he spoke , and who had a soul for the dishes . He helped , and he bustled , and he used spoons with an aplomb and a presence in his business which was quite impressive to me , wiio am a mere
baby at these things . On my other side was a long , thin , hollow-cheeked divine , with a spotless white neckcloth and as white a shirt , with scrupulous pearl buttons , that looked the very picture of innocence . Opposite me was a blackwhiskered notability , whom I took for an East-India colonel or Corporation lawyerat least—he wore so rings
, , many , and was altogether so " well kept . " A lady , abundant in turban , sat next , with a high-peaked face of the Henri Quatre stamp , and next her was her daughter , a muslin divinity with white shoulders , profuse dark hair , and tarlatan frock . "Yes" and "no , " and an alarmed simper , was the discourse of this damsel .
Must I confess to a weakness 1 have , in a new introduction to a company , to pick out the most likely-looking damsel for the purpose , and to elevate her into queen for the night—to make my approaches , as in regular siege , to her as the fortress ;—to seek her confidence by looking into her eyes for it;—to wind into her heartalthough it be but through a
, plate of plum-cake;—to steal into her good graces , albeit but in praising raspberry jam ;—to establish a telegraphic communication , perhaps to heighten into the " electric , " into rapture , though it be but for the particular two or three hours
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
London Platitudes.
which distinct words were occasionally jerked up like corks in a current , went on around me . Austrian frontier ; mackerel at Dublin ; lions of the desert ; Tennessee ; Caffreland ; Capel Coru-t and morris-dances ; these and other "hints" upon which parties , like Othello , were dilating , were addressed to few Desdemonas , if to as compliant old
gentlemen as the irascible Brabantio himself . I am an absent individual , needing a " flapper , " and apt to fall into a reverie over my dinner , especially if it he at a party . This is a disadvantageous habit , as is at once apparent , for soup cools . Moreover , vivacity is some recommendation at a dinner-tablewhere everybodis to speak and
, y everybody to listen . I acquitted myself tolerably well . Like a lazy champion in a tilting-ground—a " noir faineant "—I could languish my hit when people fell in my way . I made no exertion out of my corner . The seeker satisfied , I
" carried my sword as if it had been a mere wooden pole . Next me was a fat , pursy old gentleman , who fidgeted in his chair , looked me full in the face , with great round eyes , when he spoke , and who had a soul for the dishes . He helped , and he bustled , and he used spoons with an aplomb and a presence in his business which was quite impressive to me , wiio am a mere
baby at these things . On my other side was a long , thin , hollow-cheeked divine , with a spotless white neckcloth and as white a shirt , with scrupulous pearl buttons , that looked the very picture of innocence . Opposite me was a blackwhiskered notability , whom I took for an East-India colonel or Corporation lawyerat least—he wore so rings
, , many , and was altogether so " well kept . " A lady , abundant in turban , sat next , with a high-peaked face of the Henri Quatre stamp , and next her was her daughter , a muslin divinity with white shoulders , profuse dark hair , and tarlatan frock . "Yes" and "no , " and an alarmed simper , was the discourse of this damsel .
Must I confess to a weakness 1 have , in a new introduction to a company , to pick out the most likely-looking damsel for the purpose , and to elevate her into queen for the night—to make my approaches , as in regular siege , to her as the fortress ;—to seek her confidence by looking into her eyes for it;—to wind into her heartalthough it be but through a
, plate of plum-cake;—to steal into her good graces , albeit but in praising raspberry jam ;—to establish a telegraphic communication , perhaps to heighten into the " electric , " into rapture , though it be but for the particular two or three hours