A LEARNED AND INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
(From St. Elmo.[36])
Edna had risen to leave the room when the master of the house entered, but at his request resumed her seat and continued reading.
After searching the shelves unavailingly, he glanced over his shoulder and asked:
“Have you seen my copy of De Guérin’s Centaur anywhere about the house? I had it a week ago.”
“I beg your pardon, sir, for causing such a fruitless search; here is the book. I picked it up on the front steps where you were reading a few evenings since, and it opened at a passage that attracted my attention.”
She closed the volume and held it toward him, but he waved it back.
“Keep it if it interests you. I have read it once, and merely wished to refer to a particular passage. Can you guess what sentence most frequently recurs to me? If so, read it to me.”
He drew a chair close to the hearth and lighted his cigar.