Phyllis of Philistia [17]
him a miserable percentage on the profits. That is how they talk nowadays; the profit resulting from the Life of Christ is to be measured in pounds, shillings, and pence."
"Mr. Holland is not a man of this stamp, Ella."
"I'm sure he is not. At the same time if he isn't prosecuted for heterodoxy no one will be more disappointed than Mr. Holland, unless, indeed, it be Mr. Holland's publisher. Who would begrudge the martyr his halo, dear? Even the most sincere and single-minded martyr has an eye on that halo. The halo of the up-to-date martyr is made up of afternoon teas provided by fair women, and full-page portraits in the illustrated papers."
"And all this leads to--what?"
"It leads to--let me see--oh, yes, it leads to your appearance at my little gathering. Of course, you'll come. Believe me, you'll not feel the least uncomfortable. You will be The Girl who Sacrificed her Love for Conscience' Sake. That's a good enough qualification for distinction on the part of any girl in these hard times. But I might have known long ago that you would play this part. That sweetly pathetic voice, with that firm mouth and those lovely soft gray eyes that would seem to a casual observer to neutralize the firmness of the mouth. Oh, yes, my Phyllis, you have undoubtedly /la physionomie du role/."
"What /role/?"
"The /role/ of the girl who is on the side of the Bible."
"I am certainly on the side of the Bible."
"And so am I. So I will look for you to be by my side on Tuesday week, and as often as you please in the meantime. By the way, you will probably meet Herbert Courtland at our house. He is the New Guinea man, you know."
"Of course I know. You talk of wanting heroes in orthodoxy at your house, while you have Mr. Courtland, the New Guinea explorer, drinking his tea at your elbow? Oh, go away!"
"I hope you will like him. We saw a good deal of him in Italy, and will probably see a good deal of him here."
"I'm certain to like him: you like him."
"Ah, that's what you said to the young women who put off their colors and took to sackcloth in the presence of Mr. Holland. Don't be too sure that you will like any man because other women like him. Now, I have, as usual, remained too long with you. I'm greatly impressed with the situation of the moment. I don't say that I think you are wrong, mind you. Girls should always be on the side of the Bible. At any rate you have, I repeat, /la physionomie du role/, and you can't be far astray if you act up to it. Good-bye, my dearest."
CHAPTER VII.
THE DEFENSE OF HOLLAND.
Ella Linton drove to a certain shop not far from Piccadilly,--the only shop where the arranging of feathers is treated as a science independent of the freaks of fashion,--and at the door she met a tall man with the complexion of mahogany but with fair hair and mustache. People nudged one another and whispered his name as they walked past him before standing at the shop window, pretending to admire the feathers, but in reality to glance furtively round at the man.
The name that they whispered to one another after the nudge was Herbert Courtland.
He took off his hat--it was a tall silk one, but no one who knew anything could avoid feeling that it should have been a solar toupee-- when Mrs. Linton stepped from her victoria.
"Oh, you here!" said she. "Who on earth would expect to see you here?"
"You," said he.
"What?"
"You asked me a question. I answered it."
She laughed as they walked together to the door of the feather shop.
"It appears to me that you have a very good opinion of yourself and a very bad one of me," she remarked, smiling up to his face.
"That's just where you make a mistake," said he.
"How?"
"If I did not think well of you I should not have ordered Parkinson to make you a fan of the tail of the meteor."
"Oh, Bertie, you have done that?"
"Why should I not do it?"
"But it is the only one in the world."
"Ah, that's just it. You are the only one in the world."
She laughed again, looking up to his face.
"Well, we'll have a look at
"Mr. Holland is not a man of this stamp, Ella."
"I'm sure he is not. At the same time if he isn't prosecuted for heterodoxy no one will be more disappointed than Mr. Holland, unless, indeed, it be Mr. Holland's publisher. Who would begrudge the martyr his halo, dear? Even the most sincere and single-minded martyr has an eye on that halo. The halo of the up-to-date martyr is made up of afternoon teas provided by fair women, and full-page portraits in the illustrated papers."
"And all this leads to--what?"
"It leads to--let me see--oh, yes, it leads to your appearance at my little gathering. Of course, you'll come. Believe me, you'll not feel the least uncomfortable. You will be The Girl who Sacrificed her Love for Conscience' Sake. That's a good enough qualification for distinction on the part of any girl in these hard times. But I might have known long ago that you would play this part. That sweetly pathetic voice, with that firm mouth and those lovely soft gray eyes that would seem to a casual observer to neutralize the firmness of the mouth. Oh, yes, my Phyllis, you have undoubtedly /la physionomie du role/."
"What /role/?"
"The /role/ of the girl who is on the side of the Bible."
"I am certainly on the side of the Bible."
"And so am I. So I will look for you to be by my side on Tuesday week, and as often as you please in the meantime. By the way, you will probably meet Herbert Courtland at our house. He is the New Guinea man, you know."
"Of course I know. You talk of wanting heroes in orthodoxy at your house, while you have Mr. Courtland, the New Guinea explorer, drinking his tea at your elbow? Oh, go away!"
"I hope you will like him. We saw a good deal of him in Italy, and will probably see a good deal of him here."
"I'm certain to like him: you like him."
"Ah, that's what you said to the young women who put off their colors and took to sackcloth in the presence of Mr. Holland. Don't be too sure that you will like any man because other women like him. Now, I have, as usual, remained too long with you. I'm greatly impressed with the situation of the moment. I don't say that I think you are wrong, mind you. Girls should always be on the side of the Bible. At any rate you have, I repeat, /la physionomie du role/, and you can't be far astray if you act up to it. Good-bye, my dearest."
CHAPTER VII.
THE DEFENSE OF HOLLAND.
Ella Linton drove to a certain shop not far from Piccadilly,--the only shop where the arranging of feathers is treated as a science independent of the freaks of fashion,--and at the door she met a tall man with the complexion of mahogany but with fair hair and mustache. People nudged one another and whispered his name as they walked past him before standing at the shop window, pretending to admire the feathers, but in reality to glance furtively round at the man.
The name that they whispered to one another after the nudge was Herbert Courtland.
He took off his hat--it was a tall silk one, but no one who knew anything could avoid feeling that it should have been a solar toupee-- when Mrs. Linton stepped from her victoria.
"Oh, you here!" said she. "Who on earth would expect to see you here?"
"You," said he.
"What?"
"You asked me a question. I answered it."
She laughed as they walked together to the door of the feather shop.
"It appears to me that you have a very good opinion of yourself and a very bad one of me," she remarked, smiling up to his face.
"That's just where you make a mistake," said he.
"How?"
"If I did not think well of you I should not have ordered Parkinson to make you a fan of the tail of the meteor."
"Oh, Bertie, you have done that?"
"Why should I not do it?"
"But it is the only one in the world."
"Ah, that's just it. You are the only one in the world."
She laughed again, looking up to his face.
"Well, we'll have a look at