Prev | Current Page 976 | Next

Hichens, Robert Smythe, 1864-1950

"A Spirit in Prison"


Not your heart! I shall never pretend--I shall never think again for a
moment that I know anything--anything at all--about a man's heart. But
I do know something about your mind. And I know the irony in it. What
a subject I have presented to you all these years for the exercise of
your ironic faculty! You ought to thank me! You ought to go on your
knees and thank me and bless me for that!"
"Hermione!"
"Just now you talked of my coming into your room in Kairouan all
covered with dust. You asked me if I remembered it. Yes, I do. And I
remember something you don't--probably you don't--remember. There was
no looking-glass in your room."
She stopped.
"No looking-glass!" he repeated, wondering.
"No, there was no looking-glass. And I remember when I came in I saw
there wasn't, and I was glad. Because I couldn't look at myself and
see how dreadful and dishevelled and hideous I was--how dirty even I
was. My impulse was to go to a glass. And then I was glad I couldn't.
And I looked at your face.


Pages:
964 965 966 967 968 969 970 971 972 973 974 975 976 977 978 979 980 981 982 983 984 985 986 987 988