|
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
Book, page 221 / 485 And upon the strength of that _almost_ he is gone a courting. My dear, we are both a couple of fools; but I am an old--you are a young one. There is a wide difference--let that comfort you. _Clara._ Oh, sir, nothing comforts me, I am so provoked with myself; and you will be so provoked with me, when I tell you how silly I have been. _Sir W._ Pray tell me. _Clara._ Would you believe that I have literally given it for a song? A man sent me this morning a copy of verses to the heiress of Bannow. The verses struck my fancy--I suppose because they flattered me; and with the verses came a petition setting forth claims, and a tenant's right, and fair promises, and a proposal for the new inn; and at the bottom of the paper I rashly wrote these words--"_The poet's petition is granted._" _Sir W._ A promise in writing, too!--My dear Clara, I cannot flatter you--this certainly is not a wise transaction. So, to reward a poet, you made him an innkeeper. Well, I have known wiser heads, to reward a poet, make him an exciseman. _Clara._ But, sir, I am not quite so silly as they were, for I did not _make_ the poet an innkeeper--he is one already. _Sir W._ An innkeeper already!--Whom do you mean? _Clara._ A man with a strange name--or a name that will sound strange to your English ears--Christy Gallagher. _Sir W._ A rogue and a drunken dog, I understand: but he is a poet, and knows how to flatter the heiress of Bannow. _Clara._ (_striking her forehead_) Silly, silly Clara! _Sir W._ (_changing his tone from irony to kindness_) Come, my dear Clara, I will not torment you any more. You deserve to have done a great deal of mischief by your precipitation; but I believe this time you have done little or none, at least none that is irremediable; and you have made Gilbert happy, I hope and believe, though without intending it.
|
Knowledgerush Search
|
|
Contact Us
| Privacy Statement & Terms of Use
|