The Portrait of a Lady

By James, Henry

Book Id: WPLBN0000700555
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 1.82 MB
Reproduction Date: 2005

Title:	The Portrait of a Lady
Author:	James, Henry
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Literature, Literature & thought, Literature & drama
Collections:	Classic Literature Collection, DjVu Editions Classic Literature
Historic Publication Date:
Publisher:	Djvu Editions Classic Literature


Citation APA MLA Chicago James, B. H. (n.d.). The Portrait of a Lady. Retrieved from http://gutenberg.us/

Excerpt
Excerpt: CHAPTER 1; Under certain circumstances there are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea. There are circumstances in which, whether you partake of the tea or not--some people of course never do--the situation is in itself delightful. Those that I have in mind in beginning to unfold this simple history offered an admirable setting to an innocent pastime. The implements of the little feast had been disposed upon the lawn of an old English country-house, in what I should call the perfect middle of a splendid summer afternoon. Part of the afternoon had waned, but much of it was left, and what was left was of the finest and rarest quality. Real dusk would not arrive for many hours; but the flood of summer light had begun to ebb, the air had grown mellow, the shadows were long upon the smooth, dense turf. They lengthened slowly, however, and the scene expressed that sense of leisure still to come which is perhaps the chief source of one?s enjoyment of such a scene at such an hour. From five o?clock to eight is on certain occasions a little eternity; but on such an occasion as this the interval could be only an eternity of pleasure. The persons concerned in it were taking their pleasure quietly, and they were not of the sex which is supposed to furnish the regular votaries of the ceremony I have mentioned. The shadows on the perfect lawn were straight and angular; they were the shadows of an old man sitting in a deep wicker-chair near the low table on which the tea had been served, and of two younger men strolling to and fro, in desultory talk, in front of him. The old man had his cup in his hand; it was an unusually large cup, of a different pattern from the rest of the set and painted in brilliant colours. He disposed of its contents with much circumspection, holding it for a long time close to his chin, with his face turned to the house. His companions had either finished their tea or were indifferent to their privilege; they smoked cigarettes as they continued to stroll. One of them, from time to time, as he passed, looked with a certain attention at the elder man, who, unconscious of observation, rested his eyes upon the rich red front of his dwelling. The house that rose beyond the lawn was a structure to repay such consideration and was the most characteristic object in the peculiarly English picture I have attempted to sketch.

Table of Contents
Table of Contents: CHAPTER 1, 1 -- CHAPTER 2, 10 -- CHAPTER 3, 15 -- CHAPTER 4, 22 -- CHAPTER 5, 28 -- CHAPTER 6, 38 -- CHAPTER 7, 46 -- CHAPTER 8, 54 -- CHAPTER 9, 60 -- CHAPTER 10, 66 -- CHAPTER 11, 77 -- CHAPTER 12, 83 -- CHAPTER 13, 92 -- CHAPTER 14, 104 -- CHAPTER 15, 113 -- CHAPTER 16, 125 -- CHAPTER 17, 135 -- CHAPTER 18, 141 -- CHAPTER 19, 154 -- CHAPTER 20, 170 -- CHAPTER 21, 181 -- CHAPTER 22, 187 -- CHAPTER 23, 202 -- CHAPTER 24, 210 -- CHAPTER 25, 221 -- CHAPTER 26, 227 -- CHAPTER 27, 238 -- CHAPTER 28, 247