Quality and Others by John Galsworthy (sight word readers .TXT) 📕

"Isn't it awfully hard to do, Mr. Gessler?"

And his answer, given with a sudden smile from out of the sardonicredness of his beard: "Id is an Ardt!"

Himself, he was a little as if made from leather, with his yellowcrinkly face, and crinkly reddish hair and beard; and neat foldsslanting down his cheeks to the corners of his mouth, and hisguttural and one-toned voice; for leather is a sardonic substance,and stiff and slow of purpose. And that was the character of hisface, save that his eyes, which were grey-blue, had in them thesimple gravity of one secretly possessed by the Ideal. His elderbrother was so very like him--though watery, paler in every way, witha great industry--that sometimes in early days I was not quite sureof him until the interview was over. Then I knew that it was he, ifthe words, "I will ask my brudder," had not been spoken; and that, ifthey had, it was his elder brother.

When one grew old and wild and ran up bills, one someho