He was gone before Lemuel could stop him; he could not do anything but follow.
It appeared that it was Miss Swan who wished to see the poem; she could not remember the name of it, but she was sure she should know it if she saw it in the index. She mingled these statements with her greetings to Lemuel, and Miss Carver seemed as glad to see him. She had a little more colour than usual, and they were all smiling, so that he knew Berry had been getting off some of his jokes. But he did not care.
Miss Swan found the poem as she had predicted, and, “Now all keep still,” she said, “and I'll read it.” But she suddenly added, “Or no; you read it, Mr. Barker, won't you?”
“If Barker ain't just in voice to-night, I'll read it,” suggested Berry.
But she would not let him make this diversion. She ignored his offer, and insisted upon Lemuel's reading. “Jessie says you read beautifully. That passage in Romola,” she reminded him; but Lemuel said it was only a few lines, and tried to excuse himself. At heart he was proud of his reading, and he ended by taking the book.
When he had finished the two girls sighed.
“Isn't it beautiful, Jessie?” said Miss Swan.
“Beautiful!” answered her friend.
Berry yawned.
“Well, I don't see much difference between that and a poem of Longfellow's. Why wouldn't Longfellow have done just as well? Honestly, now! Why isn't one poem just as good as another, for all practical purposes?”