Prev | Current Page 809 | Next

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936

"From Mine Own People"

NOW Alice Chisane was "the bride of another,"
and so was Mrs. Landys-Haggert, and a good and honest wife too. THEREFORE, he,
Hannasyde, was . . . . here he called himself several hard names, and wished
that he had been wise in the beginning.
Whether Mrs. Landys-Haggert saw what was going on in his mind, she alone knows.
He seemed to take an unqualified interest in everything connected with herself,
as distinguished from the Alice-Chisane likeness, and he said one or two things
which, if Alice Chisane had been still betrothed to him, could scarcely have
been excused, even on the grounds of the likeness. But Mrs. Haggert turned the
remarks aside, and spent a long time in making Hannasyde see what a comfort and
a pleasure she had been to him because of her strange resemblance to his old
love. Hannasyde groaned in his saddle and said, "Yes, indeed," and busied
himself with preparations for her departure to the Frontier, feeling very small
and miserable.
The last day of her stay at Lucknow came, and Hannasyde saw her off at the
Railway Station. She was very grateful for his kindness and the trouble he had
taken, and smiled pleasantly and sympathetically as one who knew the Alice-
Chisane reason of that kindness.


Pages:
797 798 799 800 801 802 803 804 805 806 807 808 809 810 811 812 813 814 815 816 817 818 819 820 821