Thomas Lawrence

The day was warm, children were playing, birds were singing, people were coming and going, so preoccupied with themselves, and among them all, Thomas, a retired cardinal, was quietly reading his book in a café across from the park and the fountain. This had been one of the habits he had formed after moving back to London, that and playing chess, going to the library, strolling through the park, and other simple things for a 75-year-old man like him, who simply remained engrossed in his book.