Freddy lit his bicycle lamp for him in the porch, and with his
usual felicity of phrase, said: "This has been a day and a half."
"Stop thine ear against the singer--"
"Wait a minute; she is finishing."
"From the red gold keep thy finger;
Vacant heart and hand and eye
Easy live and quiet die."
"I love weather like this," said Freddy.
Mr. Beebe passed into it.
The two main facts were clear. She had behaved splendidly, and he
had helped her. He could not expect to master the details of so
big a change in a girl's life. If here and there he was
dissatisfied or puzzled, he must acquiesce; she was choosing the
better part.
"Vacant heart and hand and eye--"
Perhaps the song stated "the better part" rather too strongly. He
half fancied that the soaring accompaniment--which he did not lose
in the shout of the gale--really agreed with Freddy, and was
gently criticizing the words that it adorned:
"Vacant heart and hand and eye
Easy live and quiet die.
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