The Lady of the Barge by W. W. Jacobs (best novels to read in english txt) 📕

“ ‘Nothing else half so good, I’m sure,’ said I.

“ ‘Come,’ said my host, with almost a sprightly air. ‘Now we know each other, draw our chairs to the fire and let’s keep this birthday in a proper fashion.’

“He drew a small table to the fire for the glasses and produced a box of cigars, and placing a chair for the old servant, sternly bade her to sit down and drink. If the talk was not sparkling, it did not lack for vivacity, and we were soon as merry a party as I have ever seen. The night wore on so rapidly that we could hardly believe our ears when in a lull in the conversation a clock in the hall struck twelve.

“ ‘A last toast before we retire,’ said my host, pitching the end of his cigar into the fire and turning to the small table.

“We had drunk several before this, but there was something impressive in the old man’s manner as he rose and took up his glass. His tall figure seemed to get taller, and his voice rang as he gazed proudly at his disfigured son.

“ ‘The health of the children my boy saved!’ he said, and drained his glass at a draught.”

The Lady of the Barge
was published in 1902 by
William Wymark Jacobs.

This ebook was produced for
Standard Ebooks
by
Alex Cabal,
and is based on a transcription produced in 2006 by
David Widger
for
Project Gutenberg
and on digital scans available at the
Internet Archive.

The cover page is adapted from
Barges at Pontoise,
a painting completed in 1876 by
Camille Pissarro.
The cover and title pages feature the
League Spartan and Sorts Mill Goudy
typefaces created in 2014 and 2009 by
The League of Moveable Type.

The first edition of this ebook was released on
May 25, 2014, 12:00 a.m.
You can check for updates to this ebook, view its revision history, or download it for different ereading systems at
standardebooks.org/ebooks/w-w-jacobs/the-lady-of-the-barge.

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May you do good and not evil.
May you find forgiveness for yourself and forgive others.
May you share freely, never taking more than you give.

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