(If she is of _my_ mind, her behavior will rather
astonish her new master!) The cruise will determine what faults
she has, and what repairs, through the unlucky circumstance of
her age, she really stands in need of. And then it will be time
to settle whether to buy her outright or not. Such is Armadale's
conversation when he is not talking of 'his darling Neelie.' And
Midwinter, who can steal no time from his newspaper work for
his wife, can steal hours for his friend, and can offer them
unreservedly to my irresistible rival, the new yacht.
"I shall write no more to-day. If so lady-like a person as I am
could feel a tigerish tingling all over her to the very tips
of her fingers, I should suspect myself of being in that
condition at the present moment. But, with _my_ manners and
accomplishments, the thing is, of course, out of the question.
We all know that a lady has no passions.
"October 17th.--A letter for Midwinter this morning from the
slave-owners--I mean the newspaper people in London--which has
set him at work again harder than ever. A visit at luncheon-time
and another visit at dinner-time from Armadale. Conversation
at luncheon about the yacht.
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