There were bursts of laughter sometimes, due usually to statements
made abruptly by Jane Anne--as when Mother, discussing the garden with
Minks, reviled the mischievous birds:--
'They want thinning badly,' she said.
'Why don't they take more exercise, then?' inquired Jinny gravely.
And in these gusts of laughter Rogers joined heartily, as though he
knew exactly what the fun was all about. In this way he deceived
everybody and protected himself from discovery. And yet it seemed to
him that he shouted his secret aloud, not with his lips indeed, but
with his entire person. Surely everybody knew it...! He was self-
conscious as a schoolgirl.
'You must come up--to me,' rang continuously through his head like
bells. 'You must come up to me.'
CHAPTER XXXIV
How many times do I love thee, dear?
Tell me how many thoughts there be
In the atmosphere
Of a new fall'n year,
Whose white and sable hours appear
The latest flake of Eternity:--
So many times do I love thee, dear.
How many times do I love again?
Tell me how many beads there are
In a silver chain
Of evening rain,
Unravelled from the tumbling main,
And threading the eye of a yellow star:--
So many times do I love again.
THOMAS LOVELL BEDDOES.
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