It had been a dream of Littleton's that some
day he would re-read consecutively the British poets, and as soon as the
furniture was all in place and the questions of choice of rugs and
chairs and pictures had been settled by purchase, he proposed it as a
definite occupation whenever they had nothing else in view. It delighted
him that Selma received this suggestion with enthusiasm. Accordingly,
they devoted their spare evenings to the undertaking, reading aloud in
turn. Littleton's enunciation was clear and intelligent, and as a happy
lover he was in a mood to fit poetic thoughts to his own experience, and
to utter them ardently. While he read, Selma knew that she was ever the
heroine of his imagination, which was agreeable, and she recognized
besides that his performance in itself was aesthetically attractive. Yet
in spite of the personal tribute, Selma preferred the evenings when she
herself was the elocutionist. She enjoyed the sound of her own voice,
and she enjoyed the emotions which her utterance of the rhythmic stanzas
set coursing through her brain. It was obvious to her that Wilbur was
captivated by her reading, and she delighted in giving herself up to the
spirit of the text with the reservations appropriate to an enlightened
but virtuous soul.
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