"
"Is it?" said Bressant, apparently struck by the idea. "I should like to
hear it. 'A pleasant sound!' I never thought of a sound being pleasant."
"Poor fellow!" thought Cornelia again, with a strong impulse of
compassion and kindliness. "What a dreary life, not even to know that
sounds were beautiful! I suppose all the voices he hears must be harsh
and unnatural, and those are the only kinds of sounds he would attend
to." Looking at him from this new point of view, the feeling of mistrust
and uncertainty of a few minutes before was forgotten. Standing near the
margin of the basin was a rustic bench fantastically made of curved and
knotted branches, the back and arms contrived in rude scroll-work, and
the seat made of round transverse pieces, through whose interstices the
rain-water had passed, leaving it comparatively dry. Cornelia sat down
upon it and motioned Bressant to take his place by her side. As he did
so, she could not help a slight thrill of dismay. He was so very big,
and took up so much room!
Bressant sat looking straight before him, and said nothing. Stealing a
side-glance at him, Cornelia was possessed by an absurd fancy that he
was alarmed at his position. The idea of being able to scare such a
giant excited the young lady's risibilities so powerfully that she could
not contain herself, but, to her great horror, broke suddenly forth into
a warbling ecstasy of laughter.
Pages:
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79