This was all; yet as he told it, with the magical
accompaniments of gesture, look, and tone, it seemed full of pathos
and romance to his listeners, whose faces proved their interest more
flatteringly than their words.
Mrs. Ward mended the torn coat with motherly zeal, and gave it many
of those timely stitches which thrifty women love to sew. The twins
devoted themselves to their guest, each in a characteristic manner.
Dick, as host, offered every article of refreshment the house
afforded, goaded the fire to a perpetual roar, and discussed
gymnastics, with bursts of boyish admiration for the grace and skill
of his new leader, whom he christened King of Clubs on the spot.
Dolly made the stranger one of them at once by talking bad German,
as an offset to his bad English, called him Professor in spite of
all denials, and unconsciously symbolized his future bondage by
giving him a tangled skein to hold for the furtherance of her
mother's somewhat lengthened job.
The Cupid of the present day was undoubtedly "raised" in
Connecticut; for the ingenuity and shrewdness of that small
personage could have sprung from no other soil. In former times his
stratagems were of the romantic order. Colin bleated forth his
passion in rhyme, and cast sheep's eyes from among his flock, while
Phyllis coquetted with her crook and stuck posies in his hat; royal
Ferdinand and Miranda played at chess; Ivanhoe upset his fellow-men
like ninepins for love of lackadaisical Rowena; and "sweet Moll"
turned the pages while her lover, Milton, sang.
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