A VALIANT IGNORANCE
A
VALIANT IGNORANCE
A Novel
BY
MARY ANGELA DICKENS
AUTHOR OF "CROSS CURRENTS," "A MERE CYPHER," ETC.
"Thy gold is brass!"
PRINCE HOHENSTIEL SCHWANGAU
IN THREE VOLUMES
VOL. I.
London MACMILLAN & CO. AND NEW YORK 1894
A VALIANT IGNORANCE
CHAPTER I
"MY DEAR MAMMA,
"I hope you are quite well. I am quite well, and Smut is quite well. Her tail is very fat. I hope papa is quite well. I have a box of soldiers. The captain has a horse. Uncle Richard gave them to me. There is a hole in the horse, and he sticks in tight. Auntie is quite well, and so is nurse, and so is cook.
"I am, your loving Son,
"JULIAN."
It was the table d'hôte room of one of the best hotels in Nice; a large room, gay and attractive, according to its kind, as fresh paint, bright decoration, and expanse of looking-glass could make it. From end to end were ranged small tables, varying in size but uniform in the radiant spotlessness of their white cloths, and the brightness of their silver, china, or glass; and to and fro between the tables, and from the tables to the door, moved active waiters, whose one aim in life seemed to be the anticipation of the wishes of the visitors for whose pleasure alone they apparently existed.
It was early, and _déjeuner_ proper was hardly in full swing as yet. But a good many of the tables were occupied, and a subdued hum of conversation pervaded the …