Adventures of a Nice Young Man

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE BEAUTIFUL LADY THE shame of this reception so upset my mind that during half an hour I could only walk the streets, without thought of returning to my lodgings. While I was thus wandering, an accident befell me too important to be omitted here, for it deeply affected my entire life. I was...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III THE BEAUTIFUL LADY THE shame of this reception so upset my mind that during half an hour I could only walk the streets, without thought of returning to my lodgings. While I was thus wandering, an accident befell me too important to be omitted here, for it deeply affected my entire life. I was turning into Fifth Avenue from one of the streets that cross it when, of a sudden, the place being poorly lighted, I was almost under the wheels of a carriage approaching at a lively speed. With no small agility I contrived in part to escape, but not wholly, for, in spite of my efforts, I was struck by one of the horses, knocked down, and stepped upon. In an instant the team was halted and the coachman, holding the excited horses as best he could, sprang from his seat to assist me, for I was too much stunned by the blow to get up immediately. While he was setting me on my legs, the coach door was flung open and two ladies sprang out in great alarm, begging the coachman to see to it that I was not killed, and reminding him that they had often warned him to be more careful. By this time I was up again, yet so befuddled as not to know which way to turn, whereupon one of the ladies, herself taking me by the arm, insisted that Iget into the carriage to escape the crowd. Being still quite dazed, I did as she wished, beginning in this way an acquaintance that was to cause me so much happiness and so much pain that I know not to-day whether 1 ought to rejoice in or curse the accident that brought it about. In the carriage I received kind expressions from the ladies, who did not hesitate to soil their gloves, besides, in brushing the mud from my clothes, a kindness of which at first I took little notice in vexatious reflections that, having been kicked out of doors by the rich...