At the same moment the children discover me, and an awed
silence succeeds to their chatter. Not to embarrass them, I move off and
fall a-musing as to whether Catherine could make a pudding to save her
life? It is pretty certain it would cost a man his to have to eat it;
does not even her violin playing, to which she has given indubitable
time and attention, set one's teeth on edge to listen to?
Yet why this bitterness? Let me erase Catherine and her deficiencies
from my mind for ever.
April 10.--Again no letter! Very well! I know what I will do. I am
almost certain I will do it. But first I will go down to the beach and
give it a couple of hours' sober reflection. No one shall say I acted
hastily, ill-advisedly, or in pique.
I cross over to the cliff edge. Here the gorse is aflame with blossom;
the short dry grass is full of tiny insect life. Various larks are
singing; each one seems to sing the same song differently; perhaps each
never sings the same arrangement twice!
I go down the precipitous coastguards' stairs. At every step it grows
hotter. Down on the beach it is very hot, but there is shade to be
found among the boulders at the cliff's base.
Pages:
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184