Nor was there any sufficient
explanation to be found in the entertainment which he had felt himself
bound to accept at Mr. Bullsom's hands. Of the wine, which had been
only tolerable, he had drunk, as was his custom, sparingly, and of Mary
Scott, who had certainly interested him in a manner which the rest of
the family had not, he had after all seen but very little. He found
himself thinking with fervor of the desirable things in life, never had
the various tasks which he had set himself seemed so easy an
accomplishment, his own powers more real and alive. And beneath it all
he was conscious of a vague sense of excitement, a nervous dancing of
the blood, as though even now the time were at hand when he might find
himself in touch with some of the greater forces of life, all of which
he intended some day to realize. It was delightful after all to be
young and strong, to be stripped for the race in the morning of life,
when every indrawn breath seems sweet with the perfume of beautiful
things, and the heart is tuned to music.
The fatigue of the day was wholly forgotten.
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