"
"Thank goodness you haven't chosen a boy.
"Thank goodness you haven't chosen a boy.
Kipling - Poems
Wait till Mrs.
Tarkass begins murdering Milton Wellings; and I'll
tell you all about it. S-s-ss! That woman's voice always reminds me of
an Underground train coming into Earl's Court with the brakes on. Now
listen. It is really Otis Yeere. "
"So I see, but does it follow that he is your property? "
"He is! By right of trove. I found him, lonely and unbefriended, the
very next night after our talk, at the Dugald Delane's burra-khana. I
liked his eyes, and I talked to him. Next day he called. Next day we
went for a ride together, and today he's tied to my 'rickshaw-wheels
hand and foot. You'll see when the concert's over. He doesn't know I'm
here yet.
"
"Thank goodness you haven't chosen a boy. What are you going to do with
him, assuming that you've got him? "
"Assuming, indeed! Does a woman--do I--ever make a mistake in that sort
of thing? First"--Mrs. Hauksbee ticked off the items ostentatiously on
her little gloved fingers--"First, my dear, I shall dress him properly.
At present his raiment is a disgrace, and he wears a dress shirt like
a crumpled sheet of the 'Pioneer'. Secondly, after I have made him
presentable, I shall form his manners--his morals are above reproach. "
"You seem to have discovered a great deal about him considering the
shortness of your acquaintance. "
"Surely you ought to know that the first proof a man gives of his
interest in a woman is by talking to her about his own sweet self.
If the woman listens without yawning, he begins to like her. If she
flatters the animal's vanity, he ends by adoring her. "
"In some cases. "
"Never mind the exceptions. I know which one you are thinking of.
Thirdly, and lastly, after he is polished and made pretty, I shall, as
you said, be his guide, philosopher and friend, and he shall become a
success--as great a success as your friend.
tell you all about it. S-s-ss! That woman's voice always reminds me of
an Underground train coming into Earl's Court with the brakes on. Now
listen. It is really Otis Yeere. "
"So I see, but does it follow that he is your property? "
"He is! By right of trove. I found him, lonely and unbefriended, the
very next night after our talk, at the Dugald Delane's burra-khana. I
liked his eyes, and I talked to him. Next day he called. Next day we
went for a ride together, and today he's tied to my 'rickshaw-wheels
hand and foot. You'll see when the concert's over. He doesn't know I'm
here yet.
"
"Thank goodness you haven't chosen a boy. What are you going to do with
him, assuming that you've got him? "
"Assuming, indeed! Does a woman--do I--ever make a mistake in that sort
of thing? First"--Mrs. Hauksbee ticked off the items ostentatiously on
her little gloved fingers--"First, my dear, I shall dress him properly.
At present his raiment is a disgrace, and he wears a dress shirt like
a crumpled sheet of the 'Pioneer'. Secondly, after I have made him
presentable, I shall form his manners--his morals are above reproach. "
"You seem to have discovered a great deal about him considering the
shortness of your acquaintance. "
"Surely you ought to know that the first proof a man gives of his
interest in a woman is by talking to her about his own sweet self.
If the woman listens without yawning, he begins to like her. If she
flatters the animal's vanity, he ends by adoring her. "
"In some cases. "
"Never mind the exceptions. I know which one you are thinking of.
Thirdly, and lastly, after he is polished and made pretty, I shall, as
you said, be his guide, philosopher and friend, and he shall become a
success--as great a success as your friend.
