Mr. Avalon must have been near fifty now, but still some kind of feckless teenageness clung to him, in his lank, shining hair, his unbuttoned black shirts, the school-boyish way he'd kick back at his teaching desk, sneakers crossed on the tabletop.

rat-tail radish (Raphanus caudatus); wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum)

She wasn't feeling well this morning but now everything is fine.

Think you that we should quarrel with the French? / What boots to us your victories, your glory? / We pay, we fight, you profit at your ease.