Platonic Affections Author:John Smith Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV A PROPOSAL ' Well, there! 'Tis six years since last I was in Lifport, and it don't seem altered, not one speck of paint,' the parson said to Hea... more »ton as the omnibus of the ' Royal ' pulled up at the latter's lodgings. The following day Heaton found his persuasive powers taxed to their utmost by the task of inducing the parson to face the ordeal of introduction to the ladies next door. But at length, by applying the ' non vi, sed scepc cadcndo ' method, by which that classic drop of water made a hole in a stone, he succeeded in extracting a single 'Aye;' which he accepted as an answer in preference to a few core of antecedent ' Noes,' and hurried the Carson off while the acquiescent humor was upon him. Heaton himself, be it noted, felt the least inthe world anxious about the introduction. He was very jealous for his old friend, and, though he hated and despised himself for doing so, could not help feeling an occasional misgiving about the impression he would produce on his new friends. He had this feeling, notwithstanding a knowledge that beneath his roughness the parson had a real respect for women- kind, besides a kindliness which had endeared him to every creature weaker than himself, whether woman, child, or dumb animal, that had ever crossed his path; and notwithstanding, also, a tolerably assured conviction that his lady friends were neither too young nor too foolish not to be able to read the man beneath the garment of frieze. So little neat Mr. Whitstable put his head on one side, like a little bird, and looked up through his eyeglass, with much kindly curiosity, at the shaggy, strong face which met his with an expression of shrewd geniality; and the ladies received the parson graciously, and the parson responded with subdued heartiness in a subdued ...« less