None of us is mentioned in Deuteronomy, but what is
the will of the princess?" the American Sovereign asked.
Mrs. Hastings, seated near the dais, heard; and as she turned, a
rhinestone side-comb slipped from her hair, tinkled over the jewels
of her corsage and shot into the lap of a member of the High
Council. He, never having seen a side-comb, fancied that it might be
an infernal machine which he had never seen either, and,
palpitating, flashed it to the guardian hand of Mr. Frothingham. At
the same moment:
"Ah, why, Otho," said Mrs. Hastings audibly, "we had two ancestors
at Bannockburn!"
"Bannockburn!" argued Mr. Augustus Frothingham, below the voice,
"Bannockburn. But what, my dear Mrs. Hastings, is Bannockburn beside
the Midianites and the Moabites and the Hittites and the Ammonites
and the Levites?"
In this genealogical moment the prince leaned toward Olivia.
"Choose," he said significantly, but so softly that none might hear,
"oh, my beloved, choose!"
The faces of the great assembly blurred and wavered before Olivia,
and the low hum of the talk in the room was relative, like the
voices of passers-by.
Pages:
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433