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Title: Captain Nicholas (1934)Author: Hugh Walpole* A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBook *eBook No.: 0400291.txtEdition: 1Language: EnglishCharacter set encoding: Latin-1(ISO-8859-1)--8 bitDate first posted: March 2004Date most recently updated: March 2004This eBook was produced by: Don Lainson dlainson@sympatico.caProject Gutenberg of Australia eBooks are created from printed editionswhich are in the public domain in Australia, unless a copyright noticeis included. We do NOT keep any eBooks in compliance with a particularpaper edition.Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check thecopyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing thisfile.This eBook is made available at no cost and with almost no restrictionswhatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the termsof the Project Gutenberg of Australia License which may be viewed online athttp://gutenberg.net.au/licence.html---------------------------------------------------------------------------A Project Gutenberg of Australia eBookTitle: Captain Nicholas (1934)Author: Hugh WalpoleA Modern ComedyFORROSE and OWEN TURVILLEBeware the Jabberwock, my son!The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!Beware the Jubjub bird, and shunThe frumious Bandersnatch!Lewis Carroll
 
The lines quoted in the text from Mr. Arthur Waley's 170 ChinesePoems are reprinted by permission of the author and his publishers,Messrs. Constable & Co., Ltd.CONTENTSPART IThe Spring EveningPART IIFanny's HousePART IIIThe LetterPART IVBattle for the Spring EveningPART ITHE SPRING EVENING1'What a beautiful evening!' Fanny Carlisle said to the little ladywho was standing beside her.It was one of her impetuous moments and, as was always the case,she instantly regretted her impetuosity. How odd the lady mustthink her, speaking to her thus in the middle of Bordon's, withoutany reason at all!And yet she did not appear to mind.'Yes, is it not?' she said, looking up and smiling. 'So early inApril, and so warm.'The room where the glass was had a beautifully remote air, and fromthe large window the late afternoon sun streamed in upon the glass,transmuting it, transforming the ruby and orange and blue intoglittering, trembling flames of colour. The tall glasses, theround bowls, the tumblers twinkled, shone and sparkled. They
 
almost, if you were very romantic, appeared themselves to glory inthe sun, which, perhaps, did not too often caress them. It wasclever of Mr. Bordon to place the glass near the window and leavethe rest of the room to the china. He had known that there wouldbe these sunny days; he had even, Fanny Carlisle considered,arranged the large thin vases and the faint blue bowls on thehighest points of vantage, for their hunger for light must bepassionate. . . .'It must be lovely for them--a sunny day,' she said.But the little lady could not follow her so far.'It's too tiresome. My maid broke a blue bowl yesterday that myhusband gave me five Christmases ago. I was greatly attached toit. My husband's away, you know, in Scotland, and I want toreplace it before he returns. In fact I MUST replace it. Henotices things. I felt SURE that Bordon would have one like it.The man's gone to enquire, but I could see from his face--' Shebroke off to look again at the blue bowls. Poor things! They hadbeen so happy in the sun and now they were worthless, valueless,might all be smashed into atoms and the little lady would not care.'I was so CERTAIN that Bordon . . .' she murmured.'What about this one?' Fanny asked, pointing to a pale blue bowl sothin and delicate that a breath would blow it like a bubble intothe sky.'Oh no!' said the little lady, quite crossly. 'That isn't in theleast like it,' and she looked at Fanny Carlisle as though it wasmost stupid of her not to have known.'She's irritated by my height,' Fanny thought. This often occurredto her when she was with strangers. She was tall and broad, feltherself to be clumsier than she really was, and this was because sooften in her childhood she had heard the words: 'Now, Fanny, DO becareful! You'll knock that chair over!' or 'Fanny--mind the table.Look where you are going!'But the little lady was pleased with what she saw. She liked thistall straight woman with the dark hair and the kindly humorousface. She was not smart, but most certainly a lady--not one ofthese modern know-all women who gave themselves airs and thoughtthey knew everything, although Heaven alone could tell whence theycame--for the little lady was something of a snob and as sensitiveon occasion about her small stature as Fanny was of her height.'He's a long time,' she complained. 'And I know it's all no use.It's so very irritating when they go off saying, "I'll see what wecan do, Madam," when you know that THEY know that there's nothingto be done at all.''Well, I don't think that I can wait,' Fanny said cheerfully. 'Ipromised to be back by five and it's half-past four now. My boy'sat Westminster and he likes me to be there at tea-time.''Oh, you have a boy at Westminster, have you? My husband's brother
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