Ludovic was tall and somewhat ungainly , but his unhesitating placidity gave him the appearance of a dignity that did not otherwise pertain to him . He had a drooping , silky , brown moustache , and a little curly tuft of imperial , -- a fashion which was regarded as eccentric in Grafton , where men had clean-shaven chins or went full-bearded . His eyes were dreamy and pleasant , with a touch of melancholy in their blue depths . He sat down in the big bulgy old armchair that had belonged to Theodora 's father . Ludovic always sat there , and Anne declared that the chair had come to look like him . The conversation soon grew animated enough . Ludovic was a good talker when he had somebody to draw him out . He was well read , and frequently surprised Anne by his shrewd comments on men and matters out in the world , of which only the faint echoes reached Deland River . He had also a liking for religious arguments with Theodora , who did not care much for politics or the making of history , but was avid of doctrines , and read everything pertaining thereto . When the conversation drifted into an eddy of friendly wrangling between Ludovic and Theodora over Christian Science , Anne understood that her usefulness was ended for the time being , and that she would not be missed . `` It 's star time and good-night time , '' she said , and went away quietly . But she had to stop to laugh when she was well out of sight of the house , in a green meadow bestarred with the white and gold of daisies . A wind , odour-freighted , blew daintily across it . Anne leaned against a white birch tree in the corner and laughed heartily , as she was apt to do whenever she thought of Ludovic and Theodora . To her eager youth , this courtship of theirs seemed a very amusing thing . She liked Ludovic , but allowed herself to be provoked with him . `` The dear , big , irritating goose ! '' she said aloud . `` There never was such a lovable idiot before . He 's just like the alligator in the old rhyme , who would n't go along , and would n't keep still , but just kept bobbing up and down . ''
Two evenings later , when XXXXX went over to the Dix place , she and Theodora drifted into a conversation about Ludovic .
Anne Grafton Ludovic River Science Theodora armchair goose placidity tuft