By the time the boat landed I was glad that he had fallen to my lot as attendant instead of Rob, for he is so much more entertaining.

He told about a moonlight ride he had on the Nile last winter when he was in Egypt, and that led us to talking of lotus flowers, and that to Tennyson's poem of the 'Lotus Eaters.' He quoted a verse from it which he said was, to him, one of the best comparisons in English verse.
"'There is sweet music here that softer falls Than petals from blown roses on the grass, Or night dews upon still waters, between walls Of shadowy granite in a gleaming pass.
_Music that gentlier on the spirit lies_ _Than tired eyelids upon tired eyes._' "The other boat-load, far down the creek, was singing 'Sweet and low, wind of the western sea,' and he rested on his oars for us to listen.

I had often repeated that verse to myself when I closed my eyes after a hard day's study.

Nothing falls gentlier than tired eyelids upon tired eyes, and to have him understand the feeling and admire the poem in the same way that I did, was such a pleasant sensation, as if I had come upon a delightful unexplored country, full of pleasant surprises.
"Such thoughts as that about music are the ones I love best, and yet I never would dream of speaking of such things to Rob or Malcolm, who are both old and dear friends.
"After all, the coon hunt proved a very small part of the evening's entertainment, and he must have liked it, for I heard him say to godmother, as he bade her good night, that if this was a taste of real Kentucky life, he would like a steady diet of it all the rest of his days.".