One of Our Conquerors - World eBook Library

George Meredith
soil; considering the pretensions of the English language to
become the universal. If we refuse additions from above, they
force themselves on us from below.’
Dr. Wardan liked the frame of the observations, disliked
the substance.
‘One is to understand that the English language has these
pretensions?’ he said:—he minced in his manner, after the
well-known mortar-board and tassel type; the mouthing of a
petrifaction: clearly useless to the pleadings of the patriotic
Dr. Bouthoin and his curate.
He gave no grip to Colney, who groaned at cheap Donnish
sarcasm, and let him go, after dealing him a hard pellet
or two in a cracker-covering.
There was Victor all over the field netting his ephemerae!
And he who feeds on them, to pay a price for their congratulations
and flatteries, he is one of them himself!
Nesta came tripping from the Rev. Septimus Barmby. ‘Dear
Mr. Durance, where is Captain Dartrey?’
Mrs. Blathenoy had just conducted her husband through
a crowd, for an introduction of him to Captain Dartrey. That
was perceptible.
Dudley Sowerby followed Nesta closely: he struck across
the path of the Rev. Septimus: again he had the hollow of
her ear at his disposal.
‘Mr. Radnor was excellent. He does everything consummately:
really, we are all sensible of it. I am. He must lead us
in a symphony. These light “champagne overtures” of French
composers, as Mr. Fenellan calls them, do not bring out his
whole ability:—Zampa, Le Pre aux clercs, Masaniello, and
the like.’
‘Your duet together went well.’
‘Thanks to you—to you. You kept us together.’
‘Papa was the runaway or strain-the-leash, if there was one.’
‘He is impetuous, he is so fervent. But, Miss Radnor, I
could not be the runaway-with you … with you at the piano.
Indeed, I … shall we stroll down? I love the lake.’
‘You will hear the bell for your cold dinner very soon.’
‘I am not hungry. I would so much rather talk—hear you.
But you are hungry? You have been singing twice: three times!
Opera singers, they say, eat hot suppers; they drink stout.
And I never heard your voice more effective. Yours is a voice
that … something of the feeling one has in hearing cathe-
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