Beta Book

Don't think you can take a
slight sip of the wine, sir, and there leave off--no, sir, you
don't leave off, you youngsters never do; you guzzle a gallon! The
consequence is intellectual drunkenness, and thus you make, as I said
before, confounded fools of yourselves! Bah! why am I wasting my
time!--a vast deal of influence we people who give good advice
possess! Young men will be fools to the end--go and see your
sweetheart!"
And with a grim smile, the shaggy lawyer entered his sanctum, and
banged the door, just as Roundjacket, still irate about the slur
cast upon his poetry, had commenced reading in a loud voice the fine
introductory stanzas--his hair sticking up, his eyes rolling,
his ruler breaking the skulls of invisible foes. Alas for
Roundjacket!--nobody appreciated him, which is perhaps one of the most
disagreeable things in nature. Even Verty rose in a minute, and took
up his hat and rifle, as was his habit.
Roundjacket rolled up his manuscript with a deep sigh, and restored it
to the desk.


Pages:
219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243