A. E. W. Mason

Name: The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less—"
Author: A. E. W. Mason

The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

Summary

“The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less—"”, published in 1907, is a work by A. E. W. Mason. It explores elements such as Linforth, Violet Oliver and Chiltistan.

Quotes from The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (A. E. W. Mason)

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ But, as he continued to look, the memories took substance, and he began to wonder whether in her fairyland it was "just not," too. She had what she had wanted—that was clear. A collar of pearls, fastened with a diamond bow, encircled her throat. A great diamond flashed upon her bosom. Was she satisfied? Did no memory of the short week during which she had longed to tread the road of fire and stones, the road of high endeavour, trouble her content?
Linforth was curious. She was not paying much heed to the talk about the table. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ Linforth fell to accordingly. His appetite was not impaired, he was happy to notice, but, on the whole, he wished he had not seen Violet Oliver. This was his last night in London. She might so easily have come to-morrow instead, when he would already have departed from the town. It was a pity.
He did not look towards her table any more, but the moment her party rose he was nevertheless aware of its movement. He was conscious that she passed through the restaurant towards the lobby at no great distance from himself. He was aware, though he did not raise his head, that she was looking at him. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ The jewels she wore were evidence, and Linforth began to speculate which of the party was her husband. They were young people who were gathered at the table. In her liking for young people about her she had not changed. Of the men no one was noticeable, but Violet Oliver, as he remembered, would hardly have chosen a noticeable man. She would have chosen someone with great wealth and no ambitions, one who was young enough to ask nothing more from the world than Violet Oliver, who would not, in a word, trouble her with a career. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ But there had been other possibilities for Violet Oliver.
Linforth walked back from the theatre to his club. He looked into a room and saw an old gentleman dozing alone amongst his newspapers.
"I suppose I shall come to that," he said grimly. "It doesn't look over cheerful as a way of spending the evening of one's days," and he was suddenly seized with the temptation to go home and take the first train in the morning for Camberley. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ The contrast between Shere Ali's fate and the hopes with which he had set out was shocking enough. Yet even in his case so very little had turned the scale. Between the fulfilment of his hopes and the great failure what was there? If he had been sent to Ajmere instead of to England, if he and Linforth had not crossed the Meije to La Grave in Dauphine, if a necklace of pearls he had offered had not been accepted—very likely at this very moment he might be reigning in Chiltistan, trusted and supported by the Indian Government, a helpful friend gratefully recognised. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ He landed at Marseilles towards the end of September, travelled to his home, and a fortnight later came up from Sussex for a few days to London. It was the beginning of the autumn season. People were returning to town. Theatres were re-opening with new plays; and a fellow-officer, who had a couple of stalls for the first production of a comedy about which public curiosity was whetted, meeting Linforth in the hall of his club, suggested that they should go together.
"I shall be glad," said Linforth. "I always go to the play with the keenest of pleasure. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ The tuning-up of the orchestra and the rising of the curtain are events to me. And, to be honest, I have never been to a first night before. Let us do the thing handsomely and dine together before we go. It will be my last excitement in London for another three or four years, I expect. ”

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Source: Wikisource

A. E. W. Mason, The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (1907)

“ I should be very happy, Dick, if it were possible. It's Phyllis Casson. She has never married. She is living with her father at Camberley." And before he could answer she had hurried away.
But Linforth was to see her again that night. ”

A. E. W. Mason

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Quotes from The Broken Road — XXXVI: "The Little Less… (A. E. W. Mason)

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