Nobody ever dared to hold the senator responsible for her
promises, even while enjoying the fellowship of both, and it is
said that the worthy man singularly profited by it. Looking upon the
invitation as a possible distraction to his gloomy thoughts, Brant
resolved to go.
The moon was high as the carriage whirled him out of the still stifling
avenues towards the Soldiers' Home--a sylvan suburb frequented by
cabinet ministers and the President--where the good Senator had
"decreed," like Kubla Khan, "a stately pleasure dome," to entertain his
friends and partisans. As they approached the house, the trembling light
like fireflies through the leaves, the warm silence broken only by a
military band playing a drowsy waltz on the veranda, and the heavy odors
of jessamine in the air, thrilled Brant with a sense of shame as
he thought of his old comrades in the field. But this was presently
dissipated by the uniforms that met him in the hall, with the presence
of some of his distinguished superiors. At the head of the stairs,
with a circling background of the shining crosses and ribbons of the
diplomatic corps, stood Susy--her bare arms and neck glittering with
diamonds, her face radiant with childlike vivacity.
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