Mike Fletcher by George Moore (ebook pc reader .txt) 📕

Order. I Should Walk With Him At The Head Of The Choir. Bah! Life Is

Too Pitifully Short. I Should Like To Taste Of Every Pleasure--Of

Every Emotion; And What Have I Tasted? Nothing. I Have Done Nothing.

I Have Wheedled A Few Women Who Wanted To Be Wheedled,  That Is All."

"And How Are You,  Old Chap? I Am Delighted To See You."

"I'm Equally Glad To See You. You Have Made Alterations In The Place

... I Came Down From London With A Lot Of Johnnies And Tarts--Kitty

Carew,  Laura Stanley And Her Sister. I Got Dicky The Driver To Turn

In Here. You Were Playing The _Dies Iræ_. I Never Was More Impressed

In My Life. You Should Have Seen The Coach Beneath The Great Window

... St. George Overcoming The Johnnies ... The Tumult Of The Organ ...

And I Couldn't Stand Singing 'Two Lovely Black Eyes.' I Sickened Of

Them--The Whole Thing--And I Felt I Must See You."

"And Are They Outside?"

"No; They Have Gone Off."

Relieved Of Fear Of Intrusion,  John Laughed Loudly,  And Commented

Humorously On The Spectacle Of The Brighton Coach Filled With

Revellers Drawn Up Beneath His Window. Then,  To Discuss The

Window--The Quality Of The Glass--He Turned Out The Lamps; The Hall

Filled With The Legend,  And Their Hearts Full Of It,  And Delighting

In The Sensation Of Each Other,  They Walked Up And Down The Echoing

Hall. John Remembered A Certain Fugue By Bach,  And Motioning To The

Page To Blow,  He Seated Himself At The Key-Board. The Celestial

Shield And Crest Still Remained In Little Colour. Mike Saw John's

Hands Moving Over The Key-Board,  And His Soul Went Out In Worship Of

That Soul,  Divided From The World's Pleasure,  Self-Sufficing,  Alone;

Seeking God Only In His Home Of Organ Fugue And Legended Pane. He

Understood The Nobleness And Purity Which Was Now About Him--It

Seemed Impossible To Him To Return To Kitty.

Swift And Complete Reaction Had Come Upon Him,  And Choked With The

Moral Sulphur Of The Last Twenty-Four Hours,  He Craved The Breath Of

Purity. He Must Talk Of Plato's _Republic_,  Of Wagner's Operas,  Of

Schopenhauer; Even Lily Was Not Now So Imperative As These; And Next

Day,  After Lunch,  When The Question Of His Departure Was Alluded To,

Mike Felt It Was Impossible To Leave John; But Persecuted With

Scruples Of Disloyalty To Kitty,  He Resisted His Friend's Invitation

To Stay. He Urged He Had No Clothes. John Offered To Send The

Coachman Into Brighton For What He Wanted.

"But Perhaps You Have No Money," John Said,  Inadvertently,  And A Look

Of Apprehension Passed Into His Face.

"Oh,  I Have Plenty Of Money--'Tisn't That. I Haven't Told You That A

Friend Of Mine,  A Lady,  Has Left Me Nearly Five Thousand A Year. I

Don't Think You Ever Saw Her--Lady Seeley."

John Burst Into Uncontrollable Laughter. "That Is The Best Thing I

Ever Heard In All My Life. I Don't Think I Ever Heard Anything That

Amused Me More. The Grotesqueness Of The Whole Thing." Seeing That

Mike Was Annoyed He Hastened To Explain His Mirth. "The

Inexplicableness Of Human Action Always Amuses Me; The Inexplicable

Is Romance,  At Least That Is The Only Way I Can Understand Romance.

When You Reduce Life To A Logical Sequence You Destroy All Poetry,

And,  I Think,  All Reality. We Do Things Constantly,  And No One Can

Say Why We Do Them. Frederick The Great Coming In,  After Reviewing

His Troops,  To Play The Flute,  That To Me Is Intensely Romantic. A

Lady,  Whom You Probably Treated Exceedingly Badly,  Leaving You Her

Property,  That Too Is,  To Me."

Admonished By His Conscience,  John's Hilarity Clouded Into A Sort Of

Semi-Humorous Gravity,  And He Advised Mike On The Necessity Of

Reforming His Life.

"I Am Very Sorry,  For There Is No One Whose Society Is As Attractive

To Me As Yours; There Is No One In Whom I Find So Many Of My Ideas,

And Yet There Is No One From Whom I Am So Widely Separated; At Times

You Are Sublime,  And Then You Turn Round And Roll In The Nastiest

Dirt You Can Find."

Mike Loved A Lecture From John,  And He Exerted Himself To Talk.

Looking At Each Other In Admiration,  They Regretted The Other's

Weaknesses. Mike Deplored John's Conscience,  Which Had Forced Him To

Burn His Poems; John Deplored Mike's Unsteady Mind,  Which Veered And

Yielded To Every Passion. And In The Hall They Talked Of The Great

Musician And The Great King,  Or John Played The Beautiful Hymns Of

The Russian Church,  In Whose Pathetic Charm He Declared Chopin Had

Found His Inspiration; They Spoke Of The _Grail_ And The _Romance Of

The Swan_,  Or,  Wandering Into The Library,  They Read Aloud The

Ever-Flowering Eloquence Of De Quincey,  The Marmoreal Loveliness Of

Landor,  The Nurselike Tenderness Of Tennyson.

Through All These Æstheticisms Lily Young Shone,  Her Light Waxing To

Fulness Day By Day. Mike Had Written To Frank,  Beseeching Him To

Forward Any Letters That Might Arrive. He Expected An Answer From

Lily Within The Week,  And Not Until Its Close Did He Begin To Grow

Fearful. Then Rapidly His Fear Increased And Unable To Bear With So

Much Desire In The Presence Of John Norton,  He Rushed To London,  And

Thence To Marlow. He Railed Against His Own Weakness In Going To

Marlow,  For If A Letter Had Arrived It Would Have Been Forwarded To

Him.

"Why Deceive Myself With False Hopes? If The Letter Had Miscarried It

Would Have Been Returned Through The Post-Office. I Wrote My Address

Plain Enough." Then He Railed Against Lily. "The Little Vixen! She

Will Show That Letter; She Will Pass It Round; Perhaps At This Moment

She Is Laughing At Me! What A Fool I Was To Write It! However,  All's

Well That Ends Well,  And I Am Not Going To Be Married--I Have Escaped

After All."

The Train Jogged Like His Thoughts,  And The Landscape Fled In

Fleeting Visions Like His Dreams. He Laid His Face In His Hands,  And

Could Not Disguise The Truth That He Desired Her Above All Things,

For She Was The Sweetest He Had Seen.

"There Are," He Said,  Talking To Frank And Lizzie,  "Two Kinds Of

Love--The First Is A Strictly Personal Appetite,  Which Merely Seeks

Its Own Assuagement; The Second Draws You Out Of Yourself,  And Is Far

More Terrible. I Have Found Both These Loves,  But In Different

Women."

"Did No Woman Ever Inspire Both Loves In You?" Said Lizzie.

"I Thought One Woman Had."

"Oh,  Tell Us About Her."

Mike Changed The Conversation,  And He Talked Of The Newspaper Until

It Was Time To Go To The Station. He Was Now Certain That Lily Had

Rejected Him. His Grief Soaked Through Him Like A Wet,  Dreary Day.

Sometimes,  Indeed,  He Seemed To Brighten,  But There Is Often A Deeper

Sadness In A Smile Than In A Flood Of Tears,  And He Was More Than

Ever Sad When He Thought Of The Life He Had Desired,  And Had Lost;

Which He Had Seen Almost Within His Reach,  And Which Had Now

Disappeared For Ever. He Had Thought Of This Life As A Green Isle,

Where There Were Flowers And A Shrine. Isle,  Flowers,  And Shrine Had

For Ever Vanished,  And Nothing Remained But The Round Monotony Of The

Desert Ocean. Then Throwing Off His Grief With A Laugh,  He Eagerly

Anticipated The Impressions Of The Visit He Meditated To Belthorpe

Park,  And His Soul Went Out To Meet This New Adventure. He Thought Of

The Embarrassment Of The Servants Receiving Their New Master; Of The

Attitude Of The Country People Towards Him; And Deciding That He Had

Better Arrive Before Dinner,  Just As If He Were A Visitor,  He Sent A

Telegram Saying That The Groom Was To Meet Him At The Station,  And

That Dinner Was To Be Prepared.

Lady Seeley's Solicitors Had Told Him That According To Her

Ladyship's Will,  Belthorpe Was To Be Kept Up Exactly As It Had Been

In Her Life-Time,  And The Servants Had Received Notice,  That In

Pursuance Of Her Ladyship's Expressed Wish,  Mr. Fletcher Would Make

No Changes,  And That They Were Free To Remain On If They Thought

Proper. Mike Approved Of This Arrangement--It Saved Him From A Task

Of Finding New Servants,  A Task Which He Would Have Bungled Sadly,

And Which He Would Have Had To Attempt,  For He Had Decided To Enjoy

All The Pleasures Of A Country Place,  And To Act The Country

Gentleman Until He Wearied Of The Part. Life Is But A Farce,  And The

More Different Parts You Play In That Farce The More You Enjoy. Here

Was A New Farce--He The Bohemian,  Going Down To An Old Ancestral Home

To Play The Part Of The Squire Of The Parish. It Could Not But Prove

Rich In Amusing Situations,  And He Was Determined To Play It. What A

Sell It Would Be For Lily,  For Perhaps She Had Refused Him Because

She Thought He Was Poor. Contemptuous Thoughts About Women Rose In

His Mind,  But They Died In Thronging Sensations Of Vanity--He,  At

Least,  Had Not Found Women Mercenary. Lily Was The First! Then

Putting Thoughts Of Her Utterly Aside,  He Surrendered Himself To The

Happy Consideration Of His Own Good Fortune. "A New Farce! Yes; That

Was The Way To Look Upon It. I Wonder What The Servants Will Think! I

Wonder What They'll Think Of Me! ... Harrison,  The Butler,  Was With

Her In Green Street. Her Maid,  Fairfield,  Was With Her When I Saw Her

Last--Nearly Three Years Ago. Fairfield Knew I Was Her Lover,  And She

Has Told The Others. But What Does It Matter? I Don't Care A Damn

What They Think. Besides,  Servants Are Far More Jealous Of Our Honour

Than We Are Ourselves; They'll Trump Up Some Story About Cousinship,

Or That I Had Saved Her Ladyship's Life--Not A Bad Notion That Last;

I Had Better Stick To It Myself."

As He Sought A Plausible Tale,  His Thoughts Detached Themselves,  And

It Struck Him That The Gentleman Sitting Opposite Was His Next-Door

Neighbour. He Imagined His Visit; The Invitation To Dine; The

Inevitable Daughters In The Drawing-Room. How Would He Be Received By

The County Folks?

"That Depends," He Thought,  "Entirely On The Number Of Unmarried

Girls There Are In The Neighbourhood. The Morals And Manners Of An

English County Are Determined By Its Female Population. If The Number

Of Females Is Large,  Manners Are Familiar,