The Europeans

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: murmured. You have a way of bringing out things! It will certainly be much pleasanter if they are rich, Felix declared. Do you suppose if I had not known they were rich I would ever have come ? The young man met his sister's somewhat peremptory eye with his bright, contented glance. Yes, it certainly will be pleasanter, he repeated. That is all I expect of them, said the Baroness. I don't count upon their being clever or friendly?at first?or elegant or interesting. But I assure you I insist upon their being rich. Felix leaned his head upon the back of the sofa and looked a while at the oblong patch of sky to which the window served as frame. The snow was ceasing; it seemed to him that the sky had begun to brighten. I count upon their being rich, he said at last, and powerful, and clever, and friendly, and elegant, and interesting, and generally delightful! Tu vas voir. And he bentforward and kissed his sister. Look there! he went on. As a portent, even while I speak, the sky is turning the colour of gold; the day is going to be splendid. And indeed, within five minutes the weather had changed. The sun broke out through the snow-clouds and jumped into the Baroness's room. Bonte divine, exclaimed this lady, what a climate ! We will go out and see the world, said Felix. And after a while they went out. The air had grown warm, as well as brilliant; the sunshine had dried the pavements. They walked about the streets at hazard, looking at the people and the houses, the shops and the vehicles, the blazing blue sky and the muddy crossings, the hurrying men and the slow-strolling maidens, the fresh red bricks and the bright green trees, the extraordinary mixture of smartness and shabbiness. From one hour to another the day h...