The Argosy — page 129: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

114 A Capriccio. if she felt ill, when she continued, in the same agonised tone, and still staring fixedly. ‘T cannot move, Celia. Is it not a young man?” ‘ What ? who? where?” I asked, bewildered. ‘On my head,” she replied sepulchrally. Then I perceived what had happened. A young man occupied — the seat behind Aunt Rebecca. During the entr’acte he had turned round to look about him and, either in absence of mind or with intentional rudeness, had leant against the back of her stall. Now Aunt Rebecca dressed her hair in a peculiar long roll behind, rather like a broad sausage; over the sausage she wore a turban with long ends; and on this sausage and on the ends of this turban, the young man was calmly sitting, holding the good lady in a vice, so that she could turn neither to the right nor to the left. Uncle Greville was soundly asleep; nothing but a firmly-adminis- tered kick would have roused him, and this Aunt Rebecca was too timid and too genteel to bestow. How then was she to be re- leased P ‘What shall I do, Celia?” she murmured. ‘I shall be strangled.” 7 will tell him,” I said. ‘I will tell him that he is very rude and underbred.” * What is he like, Celia?” | I took a longer look at the young man. He was tall and slim, with a boyish face full of such chivalry that my courage rose, and I felt no fear of my action being misconstrued. ‘Touching him on the shoulder, I said clearly, but timidly : ** Please, sir, would you mind moving ?” He sprang up, and looked round in surprise. Then his face clouded with genuine distress. “JT beg your pardon, madam,” he said, bowing with that old- world courtesy that is dying out so quickly; “I was not aware— indeed I had no idea of what I was doing. I was forgetful. What can I say to excuse myself? I beg your pardon a thousand times.” Aunt Rebecca bowed, blushed and murmured : ** Not at all—I am sure—pray don’t mention it.” I could see that the young man was quite overcome with annoy- ance at what he had done. His eyes met mine and seemed to say so plainly, “‘It was unintentional. You will believe me,” that my heart went out to him, and I smiled and nodded as if to reassure him that it was all right now. ‘Then I blushed, not quite sure if Aunt Rebecca would approve of such familiarity, and did not turn my head round again for the rest of the evening. But as we were leaving the theatre the young man was once more thrown in our way. | Mr. Greville had enough to do in guiding Aunt Rebecca through the crowd without troubling about me. I had to fight my way as best I could, and presently I found myself separated from my ECORNIELIOOKS.E© m