Sons and Fathers (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from Sons and Fathers His face was full and a trifle florid, but very mobile in expression; while that of the first mentioned was somewhat sallow and softened almost to sadness by gray eyes and long lashes. As they passed each other the difference was both noticed and felt. The impressions that the two would have conveyed to an analyst were action and reflection. Perhaps in the case of the man in gray the impression would have been heightened by sight of his two great commercial traveling bags of Russia leather, bearing the initials "N. M., Jr." There was one other passenger on the platform - a very handsome young woman, seated on her trunk and trying to'interest herself in a pamphlet spread upon her lap, but from time to time she lifted her face, and when the eyes of the man glanced her way she lowered hers with a half-smile on her lips. There was something in the man's tone and manner that disarmed reserve. An officer in uniform came from the little eating-house near by and approached the party. "Are there any passengers for the coast here?" he asked. "I am going to Charleston," the young lady said. "Where are you from, miss?" Then, seeing her surprise, he continued: "You must excuse the question, but I am a quarantine officer and Charleston has quarantined against all points that have been exposed to yellow fever." "That, then, does not include me," she said, confidently. "I am from Montgomery, where there is no yellow fever, and a strict quarantine." "Have you a health certificate?" "A what?" "A ticket from any of the authorities or physicians in Montgomery?" "No, sir; I am Miss Kitty Blair, and going to visit friends in Charleston." The officer looked embarrassed. The health-certificate regulation and inland quarantine were new and forced him frequently into unpleasant positions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.