'Mighty fine night,' said Sturk, and he paused for a second. It was
Puddock's way to be more than commonly friendly and polite with any man
who owed him money; and Sturk, who thought, perhaps rightly, that the
world of late had been looking cold and black upon him, felt, in a sort
of way, thankful for the greeting and its cordial tone.
'A night like this,' pursued the little lieutenant, 'my dear Sir, brings
us under the marble balconies of the palace of the Capulets, and sets us
repeating "On such a night sat Dido on the wild seabanks"--you
remember--"and with a willow wand, waved her love back to Carthage,"--or
places us upon the haunted platform, where buried Denmark revisits the
glimpses of the moon. My dear doctor, 'tis wonderful--isn't it--how much
of our enjoyment of Nature we owe to Shakespeare--'twould be a changed
world with us, doctor, if Shakespeare had not written--' Then there was
a little pause, Sturk standing still.
'God be wi' ye, lieutenant,' said he, suddenly taking his hand. 'If
there were more men like you there would be fewer broken hearts in the
world.' And away went Sturk.
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