human
I must play at sick man no more, or I shall rob you, I see, of Major Campbell's company; and I owe you all for too much already.
gpt
Unless you are better than you were last night, you must play at sick man, said the Major.
human
I cannot conceive what exhausted you so; unless you ladies are better nurses, I must let no one come near him but myself. If you had been scolding him the whole morning, instead of praising him as he deserves, he could not have been more tired last night.
gpt
Pray do not! cried Frank, evidently much pained;
human
I had such a delightful morning, and every one is so kind--you only make me wretched, when I feel all the trouble I am giving.
gpt
My dear fellow, said Scoutbush _en grand sérieux_,
human
Pray do not speak so, said Frank,
gpt
I am fallen among angels, when I least expected.
human
Scoutbush as an angel! shrieked Lucia, clapping her hands.
gpt
Elsley, don't you see the wings sprouting already, under his shooting jacket?
human
They are my braces, I suppose, of course, said Scoutbush, who never understood a joke about himself, though he liked one about other people; while Elsley, who hated all jokes, made no answer--at least none worth recording. In fact, as the reader may have discovered, Elsley, save _tête-à-tête_ with some one who took his fancy, was somewhat of a silent and morose animal, and, as little Scoutbush confided to Mellot, there was no getting a rise out of him. All which Lucia saw as keenly as any one, and tried to pass off by chattering nervously and fussily for him, as well as for herself; whereby she only made him the more cross, for he could not the least understand her argument--
gpt
Why, my dear, if you don't talk to people, I must!
human
But why should people be talked to?
gpt
Because they like it, and expect it!
human
The more foolish they. Much better to hold their tongues and think.
gpt
Or read your poetry, I suppose?
human
If he suited Lucia, very well. His taste and hers differed: but it was her concern, not his