He gravely twisted the point of a small, dark mustache, then in vogue
among the fashionables, and proffered his suggestions with the quiet
assurance that comes from a thorough appreciation of the deference due
the man who is "real quality" in the Southland, and yet without the
faintest suggestion of superciliousness or conceit in his manner.
This man was born to it; it had come to him through the blood of
unnumbered ancestors. He was an aristocrat among aristocrats, as fair
Virginia produced them. Notwithstanding he had arrived at the Springs
no earlier than the forenoon of the day at hand, without knowledge of
previous plans regarding the expedition, he was nevertheless
established by common though unspoken consent as the arbiter of all
its features. He had come among friends who knew him of old--last
year, the year before, and the years before that.
For this tall young man who leaned so gracefully against the
mantelpiece was the master of Jenison Hall--the last of the Jenisons.
And that was saying all that could be said, so far as a Virginian was
concerned.
Their council was disturbed by the arrival of the belated night coach
that came over the mountains from the nearest railway station.
Pages:
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348