Little I divined of
feminine dreams of conquest in larger fields; or foresaw of dangerous
fruit to grow from seed planted with thoughtlessness. To my mind,
nothing of harm or evil could ensue from anything done, or thought, in
our happy little group. To my eyes, the future could be only radiant
and triumphant. For I was still but a lad at heart, and to think as I
did, or to be thoughtless as I was, is the way of youth.
CHAPTER IV.
_How Philip and I Behaved as Rivals in Love._
I was always impatient, and restless to settle uncertainties. One fine
morning in the Spring of 1773, Philip and I were breaking the Sabbath
by practising with the foils in our back garden. Spite of all the
lessons I had taken from an English fencing-master in the town, Phil
was still my superior in the gentlemanly art. After a bout, on this
sunshiny morning, we rested upon a wooden bench, in the midst of a
world of white and pink and green, for the apple and cherry blossoms
were out, and the leaves were in their first freshness. The air was
full of the odour of lilacs and honeysuckles. Suddenly the matter that
was in my mind came out.
"I wish you'd tell me something, Phil--though 'tis none of my
business,--"
"Why, man, you're welcome to anything I know."
"Then, is there aught between Margaret and you--any agreement or
understanding, I mean?"
Phil smiled, comprehending me thoroughly.
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