Hefaltered。"ToAnsell’s,itis——"Itseemedasifhewasmakingsomegreatadmission。Soself—consciouswashe,thathethoughtthetwowomenexchangedglances。HadAgnesalreadyexploredthatpartofhimthatdidnotbelongtoher?Wouldanotherchancesteprevealthepartthatdid?Heaskedthemabruptlywhattheywouldliketodoafterlunch。
  "Anything,"saidMrs。Lewin,——"anythingintheworld。"
  Awalk?Aboat?Ely?Adrive?Someobjectionwasraisedtoeach。
  "Totellthetruth,"shesaidatlast,"Idofeelaweebittired,andwhatoccurstomeisthis。YouandAgnesshallleavemehereandhavenomorebother。Ishallbeperfectlyhappysnoozlinginoneofthesedelightfuldrawing—roomchairs。Dowhatyoulike,andthenpickmeupafterit。"
  "Alas,it’sagainstregulations,"saidRickie。"TheUnionwon’ttrustladyvisitorsonitspremisesalone。"
  "Butwho’stoknowI’malone?Withalotofmeninthedrawing—room,how’seachtoknowthatI’mnotwiththeothers?"
  "ThatwouldshockRickie,"saidAgnes,laughing。"He’sfrightfullyhigh—principled。"
  "No,I’mnot,"saidRickie,thinkingofhisrecentshiftinessoverbreakfast。
  "Thencomeforawalkwithme。Iwantexercise。SomeconnectionofourswasoncerectorofMadingley。Ishallwalkoutandseethechurch。"
  Mrs。LewinwasaccordinglyleftintheUnion。
  "Thisisjolly!"AgnesexclaimedasshestrodealongthesomewhatdepressingroadthatleadsoutofCambridgepasttheobservatory。
  "DoIgotoofast?"
  "No,thankyou。Igetstrongereveryyear。Ifitwasn’tforthelookofthething,Ishouldbequitehappy。"
  "Butyoudon’tcareforthelookofthething。It’sonlyignorantpeoplewhodothat,surely。"
  "Perhaps。Icare。Ilikepeoplewhoarewell—madeandbeautiful。
  Theyareofsomeuseintheworld。Iunderstandwhytheyarethere。Icannotunderstandwhytheuglyandcrippledarethere,howeverhealthytheymayfeelinside。Don’tyouknowhowTurnerspoilshispicturesbyintroducingamanlikeabolsterintheforeground?Well,inactuallifeeverylandscapeisspoiltbymenofworseshapesstill。"
  "Yousoundlikeabolsterwiththestuffingout。"Theylaughed。
  Shealwaysblewhiscobwebsawaylikethis,withapuffofhumorousmountainair。Justnowtheassociationsheattachedtoherwerevarious——sheremindedhimofaheroineofMeredith’s——
  butaheroineattheendofthebook。Allhadbeenwrittenabouther。Shehadplayedhermightypart,andknewthatitwasover。
  Heandhealonewasnotcontent,andwroteforherdailyatrivialandimpossiblesequel。
  LasttimetheyhadtalkedaboutGerald。Butthatwassomesixmonthsago,whenthingsfelteasier。TodayGeraldwasthefaintestblur。FortunatelytheconversationturnedtoMr。
  Pembrokeandtoeducation。DidwomenlosealotbynotknowingGreek?"Aheap,"saidRickie,roughly。Butmodernlanguages?ThustheygottoGermany,whichhehadvisitedlastEasterwithAnsell;andthencetotheGermanEmperor,andwhatato—dohemade;andfromhimtoourownking(stillPrinceofWales),whohadlivedwhileanundergraduateatMadingleyHall。Hereitwas。
  Andallthetimehethought,"Itishardonher。Shehasnorighttobewalkingwithme。Shewouldbeillwithdisgustifsheknew。
  Itishardonhertobeloved。"
  TheylookedattheHall,andwentinsidetheprettylittlechurch。SomeArundelprintshunguponthepillars,andAgnesexpressedtheopinionthatpicturesinsideaplaceofworshipwereapity。Rickiedidnotagreewiththis。Hesaidagainthatnothingbeautifulwasevertoberegretted。
  "You’recrackedonbeauty,"shewhispered——theywerestillinsidethechurch。"Dohurryupandwritesomething。"
  "Somethingbeautiful?"
  "Ibelieveyoucan。I’mgoingtolectureyouseriouslyallthewayhome。Takecarethatyoudon’twasteyourlife。"
  Theycontinuedtheconversationoutside。"ButI’vegottohatemyownwriting。Ibelievethatmostpeoplecometothatstage——notsoearlythough。WhatIwriteistoosilly。Itcan’thappen。Forinstance,astupidvulgarmanisengagedtoalovelyyounglady。
  Hewantshertoliveinthetowns,butsheonlycaresforwoods。
  Sheshockshimthiswayandthat,butgraduallyhetamesher,andmakeshernearlyasdullasheis。Onedayshehasalastexplosion——overthesnobbyweddingpresents——andfliesoutofthedrawing—roomwindow,shouting,’Freedomandtruth!’Nearthehouseisalittledellfulloffir—trees,andsherunsintoit。
  Hecomestherethenextmoment。Butshe’sgone。"
  "Awfullyexciting。Where?"
  "OhLord,she’saDryad!"criedRickie,ingreatdisgust。"She’sturnedintoatree。"
  "Rickie,it’sverygoodindeed。Thekindofthinghassomethinginit。OfcourseyougetitallthroughGreekandLatin。Howupsetthemanmustbewhenheseesthegirlturn。"
  "Hedoesn’tseeher。Heneverguesses。SuchamancouldneverseeaDryad。"
  "Soyoudescribehowsheturnsjustbeforehecomesup?"
  "No。IndeedIdon’teversaythatshedoesturn。Idon’tusetheword’Dryad’once。"
  "Ithinkyououghttoputthatpartplainly。Otherwise,withsuchanoriginalstory,peoplemightmissthepoint。Haveyouhadanyluckwithit?"
  "Magazines?Ihaven’ttried。Iknowwhatthestuff’sworth。Yousee,ayearortwoagoIhadagreatideaofgettingintotouchwithNature,justastheGreekswereintouch;andseeingEnglandsobeautiful,Iusedtopretendthathertreesandcoppicesandsummerfieldsofparsleywerealive。It’sfunnyenoughnow,butitwasn’tfunnythen,forIgotinsuchastatethatIbelieved,actuallybelieved,thatFaunslivedinacertaindoublehedgerowneartheCogMagogs,andoneeveningIwalkedamilesoonerthangothroughitalone。"
  "Goodgracious!"Shelaidherhandonhisshoulder。
  Hemovedtotheothersideoftheroad。"It’sallrightnow。I’vechangedthosefolliesforothers。ButwhileIhadthemIbegantowrite,andevennowIkeeponwriting,thoughIknowbetter。I’vegotquiteapileoflittlestories,allharpingonthisridiculousideaofgettingintotouchwithNature。"
  "Iwishyouweren’tsomodest。It’ssimplysplendidasanidea。
  Though——buttellmeabouttheDryadwhowasengagedtobemarried。Whatwasshelike?"
  "Icanshowyouthedellinwhichtheyoungpersondisappeared。
  Wepassitontherightinamoment。"
  "Itdoesseemapitythatyoudon’tmakesomethingofyourtalents。Itseemssuchawastetowritelittlestoriesandneverpublishthem。Youmusthaveenoughforabook。Lifeissofullinourdaysthatshortstoriesaretheverything;theygetreadbypeoplewho’dnevertackleanovel。Forexample,atourDorcaswetriedtoreadoutalongaffairbyHenryJames——Herbertsawitrecommendedin’TheTimes。’Therewasnodoubtitwasverygood,butonesimplycouldn’trememberfromoneweektoanotherwhathadhappened。Sonowouraimistogetsomethingthatjustlaststhehour。Itakeyouseriously,Rickie,andthatiswhyIamsooffensive。Youaretoomodest。Peoplewhothinktheycandonothingsooftendonothing。Iwantyoutoplunge。"
  Itthrilledhimlikeatrumpet—blast。Shetookhimseriously。
  Couldhebutthankherforherdivineaffability!Butthewordswouldstickinhisthroat,orworsestillwouldbringotherwordsalongwiththem。Hisbreathcamequickly,forheseldomspokeofhiswriting,andnoone,notevenAnsell,hadadvisedhimtoplunge。
  "ButdoyoureallythinkthatIcouldtakeupliterature?"
  "Whynot?Youcantry。Evenifyoufail,youcantry。Ofcoursewethinkyoutremendouslyclever;andImetoneofyourdonsattea,andhesaidthatyourdegreewasnotintheleastaproofofyourabilities:hesaidthatyouknockedupandgotflurriedinexaminations。Oh!"——hercheekflushed,——"IwishIwasaman。Thewholeworldliesbeforethem。Theycandoanything。Theyaren’tcoopedupwithservantsandteapartiesandtwaddle。Butwhere’sthisdellwheretheDryaddisappeared?"
  "We’vepassedit。"Hehadmeanttopassit。Itwastoobeautiful。
  Allhehadread,allhehadhopedfor,allhehadloved,seemedtoquiverinitsenchantedair。Itwasperilous。Hedarednotenteritwithsuchawoman。
  "Howlongago?"Sheturnedback。"Idon’twanttomissthedell。
  Hereitmustbe,"sheaddedafterafewmoments,andsprangupthegreenbankthathidtheentrancefromtheroad。"Oh,whatajollyplace!"
  "Gorightinifyouwanttoseeit,"saidRickie,anddidnotoffertogowithher。Shestoodforamomentlookingattheview,forafewstepswillincreaseaviewinCambridgeshire。Thewindblewherdressagainsther。Then,likeacataractagain,shevanishedpureandcoolintothedell。
  Theyoungmanthoughtofherfeelingsnolonger。Hisheartthrobbedlouderandlouder,andseemedtoshakehimtopieces。
  "Rickie!"
  Shewascallingfromthedell。Forananswerhesatdownwherehewas,onthedust—bespatteredmargin。Shecouldcallasloudassheliked。Thedevilhaddonemuch,butheshouldnottakehimtoher。
  "Rickie!"——anditcamewiththetonesofanangel。Hedrovehisfingersintohisears,andinvokedthenameofGerald。Buttherewasnosign,neitherangrymotionintheairnorhintofJanuarymist。June——fieldsofJune,skyofJune,songsofJune。GrassofJunebeneathhim,grassofJuneoverthetragedyhehaddeemedimmortal。Abirdcalledoutofthedell:"Rickie!"
  Abirdflewintothedell。
  "DidyoutakemefortheDryad?"sheasked。Shewassittingdownwithhisheadonherlap。Hehadlaiditthereforamomentbeforehewentouttodie,andshehadnotlethimtakeitaway。
  "Iprayedyoumightnotbeawoman,"hewhispered。
  "Darling,Iamverymuchawoman。Idonotvanishintogrovesandtrees。Ithoughtyouwouldnevercome。"
  "Didyouexpect——?"
  "Ihoped。Icalledhoping。"
  InsidethedellitwasneitherJunenorJanuary。Thechalkwallsbarredouttheseasons,andthefir—treesdidnotseemtofeeltheirpassage。Onlyfromtimetotimetheodoursofsummerslippedinfromthewoodabove,tocommentonthewaxingyear。
  Shebentdowntotouchhimwithherlips。
  Hestarted,andcriedpassionately,"Neverforgetthatyourgreatestthingisover。Ihaveforgotten:Iamtooweak。Youshallneverforget。WhatIsaidtoyouthenisgreaterthanwhatIsaytoyounow。Whathegaveyouthenisgreaterthananythingyouwillgetfromme。"
  Shewasfrightened。Againshehadthesenseofsomethingabnormal。Thenshesaid,"Whatisallthisnonsense?"andfoldedhiminherarms。
  VIII
  Ansellstoodlookingathisbreakfast—table,whichwaslaidforfourinsteadoftwo。Hisbedmaker,equallypeevish,explainedhowithadhappened。Lastnight,atoneinthemorning,theporterhadbeenawokewithanoteforthekitchens,andinthatnoteMr。
  ElliotsaidthatallthesethingsweretobesenttoMr。
  Ansell’s。
  "Thefoolshavesenttheoriginalorderaswell。Here’sthelemon—solefortwo。Ican’tmoveforfood。"
  "Thenotebeingambigerous,theKitchensjudgedbesttosenditall。"Shespokeofthekitchensinahalf—respectful,half—pityingway,muchasonespeaksofParliament。
  "Who’stopayforit?"Hepeepedintothenewdishes。Kidneysentombedinanomelette,hotroastchickeninwaterygravy,aglazedbutpallidpie。
  "Andwho’stowashitup?"saidthebedmakertoherhelpoutside。
  AnsellhaddisputedlatelastnightconcerningSchopenhauer,andwasalittlecrossandtired。HebouncedovertoTilliard,whokeptopposite。Tilliardwaseatinggooseberryjam。
  "DidElliotaskyoutobreakfastwithme?"
  "No,"saidTilliardmildly。
  "Well,you’dbettercome,andbringeveryoneyouknow。"
  SoTilliardcame,bearinghimselfalittleformally,forhewasnotveryintimatewithhisneighbour。OutofthewindowtheycalledtoWiddrington。Buthelaidhishandonhisstomach,thusindicatingitwastoolate。
  "Who’stopayforit?"repeatedAnsell,asamanappearedfromtheButterycarryingcoffeeonabrighttintray。
  "Collegecoffee!Hownice!"remarkedTilliard,whowascuttingthepie。"Butbeforetermendsyoumustcomeandtrymynewmachine。Mysistergaveitme。Thereisabulbatthetop,andasthewaterboils——"
  "Hemighthavecounter—orderedthelemon—sole。That’sRickieallover。Violentlyeconomical,andthenloseshishead,andallthethingsgobad。"
  "Givethemtothebedderwhilethey’rehot。"Thiswasdone。Sheacceptedthemdispassionately,withtheairofonewholiveswithoutnourishment。Tilliardcontinuedtodescribehissister’scoffeemachine。
  "What’sthat?"Theycouldhearpantingandrustlingonthestairs。
  "Itsoundslikealady,"saidTilliardfearfully。Heslippedthepieceofpieback。Itfellintopositionlikeabrick。
  "Isithere?AmIright?Isithere?"ThedooropenedandincameMrs。Lewin。"Ohhorrors!I’vemadeamistake。"
  "That’sallright,"saidAnsellawkwardly。
  "IwantedMr。Elliot。Wherearethey?"
  "WeexpectMr。Elliotevery—moment,"saidTilliard。
  "Don’ttellmeI’mright,"criedMrs。Lewin,"andthatyou’retheterrifyingMr。Ansell。"And,withobviousrelief,shewrungTilliardwarmlybythehand。
  "I’mAnsell,"saidAnsell,lookingveryuncouthandgrim。
  "Howstupidofmenottoknowit,"shegasped,andwouldhavegoneontoIknownotwhat,butthedooropenedagain。ItwasRickie。
  "Here’sMissPembroke,"hesaid。"Iamgoingtomarryher。"
  Therewasaprofoundsilence。
  "Weoughtn’ttohavedonethingslikethis,"saidAgnes,turningtoMrs。Lewin。"WehavenorighttotakeMr。Ansellbysurprise。
  ItisRickie’sfault。Hewasthatobstinate。Hewouldbringus。
  Heoughttobehorsewhipped。"
  "Heought,indeed,"saidTilliardpleasantly,andbolted。Nottillhegainedhisroomdidherealizethathehadbeenlessaptthanusual。AsforAnsell,thefirstthinghesaidwas,"Whydidn’tyoucounter—orderthelemon—sole?"
  InsuchasituationMrs。Lewinwasofpricelessvalue。Sheledthewaytothetable,observing,"IquiteagreewithMissPembroke。Iloathesurprises。NevershallIforgetmyhorrorwhentheknife—boypaintedthedove’scagewiththedoveinside。Hediditasasurprise。PoorParsivalnearlydied。Hisfeatherswerebrightgreen!"
  "Well,givemethelemon—soles,"saidRickie。"Ilikethem。"
  "Thebedder’sgotthem。"
  "Well,thereyouare!What’stheretobeannoyedabout?"
  "Andwhilethecagewasdryingweputhimamongthebantams。Theyhadbeenthegreatestallies。ButIsupposetheytookhimforaparrotorahawk,orsomethingthatbantamshateforwhilehiscagewasdryingtheypickedouthisfeathers,andPICKEDandPICKEDouthisfeathers,tillhewasperfectlybald。’Hugo,look,’saidI。’ThisistheendofParsival。Letmehavenomoresurprises。’Heburstintotears。"
  ThusdidMrs。Lewincreateanatmosphere。Atfirstitseemedunreal,butgraduallytheygotusedtoit,andbreathedscarcelyanythingelsethroughoutthemeal。Insuchanatmosphereeverythingseemedofsmallandequalvalue,andtheengagementofRickieandAgneslikethefeathersofParsival,flutteredlightlytotheground。Ansellwasgenerallysilent。Hewasnomatchforthesetwoquitecleverwomen。Onlyoncewasthereahitch。
  TheyhadbeentalkinggailyenoughaboutthebetrothalwhenAnsellsuddenlyinterruptedwith,"Whenisthemarriage?"
  "Mr。Ansell,"saidAgnes,blushing,"Iwishyouhadn’taskedthat。Thatpart’sdreadful。Notforyears,asfaraswecansee。"
  ButRickiehadnotseenasfar。Hehadnottalkedtoherofthisatall。Lastnighttheyhadspokenonlyoflove。Heexclaimed,"Oh,Agnes—don’t!"Mrs。Lewinlaughedroguishly。
  "Whythisdelay?"askedAnsell。
  AgneslookedatRickie,whoreplied,"Imustgetmoney,worseluck。"
  "Ithoughtyou’dgotmoney。"
  Hehesitated,andthensaid,"Imustgetmyfootontheladder,then。"
  Ansellbeganwith,"Onwhichladder?"butMrs。Lewin,usingtheprivilegeofhersex,exclaimed,"Notanotherword。Ifthere’sathingIabominate,itisplans。Myheadgoeswhirlingatonce。"
  Whatshereallyabominatedwasquestions,andshesawthatAnsellwasturningserious。Toappeasehim,sheputonherclevermannerandaskedhimaboutGermany。Howhaditimpressedhim?Werewesototallyunfittedtorepelinvasion?WasnotGermanscholarshipoverestimated?Hereplieddiscourteously,buthedidreply;andifshecouldhavestoppedhimthinking,hertriumphwouldhavebeencomplete。
  Whentheyrosetogo,AgnesheldAnsell’shandforamomentinherown。
  "Good—bye,"shesaid。"Itwasveryunconventionalofustocomeaswedid,butIdon’tthinkanyofusareconventionalpeople。"
  Heonlyreplied,"Good—bye。"Theladiesstartedoff。Rickielingeredbehindtowhisper,"Iwouldhaveitso。Iwouldhaveyoubeginsquaretogether。Ican’ttalkyet——I’velovedherforyears——can’tthinkwhatshe’sdoneitfor。I’mgoingtowriteshortstories。Ishallstartthisafternoon。Shedeclarestheremaybesomethinginme。"
  Assoonashehadleft,Tilliardburstin,whitewithagitation,andcrying,"Didyouseemyawfulfauxpas——aboutthehorsewhip?
  WhatshallIdo?ImustcallonElliot。OrhadIbetterwrite?"
  "MissPembrokewillnotmind,"saidAnsellgravely。"Sheisunconventional。"Hekneltinanarm—chairandhidhisfaceintheback。
  "Itwaslikeabomb,"saidTilliard。
  "Itwasmeanttobe。"
  "Idofeelafool。Whatmustshethink?"
  "Nevermind,Tilliard。You’venotbeenasbigafoolasmyself。
  Atallevents,youtoldherhemustbehorsewhipped。"
  Tilliardhummedalittletune。Hehatedanythingnasty,andtherewasnastinessinAnsell。"Whatdidyoutellher?"heasked。
  "Nothing。"
  "Whatdoyouthinkofit?"
  "Ithink:Damnthosewomen。"
  "Ah,yes。Onehatesone’sfriendstogetengaged。Itmakesonefeelsoold:Ithinkthatisoneofthereasons。Thebrotherjustabovemehaslatelymarried,andmysisterwasquitesickaboutit,thoughthethingwassuitableineveryway。"
  "DamnTHESEwomen,then,"saidAnsell,bouncingroundinthechair。"Damntheseparticularwomen。"
  "Theylookedandspokelikeladies。"
  "Exactly。Theirdiplomacywasladylike。Theirlieswereladylike。
  They’vecaughtElliotinamostladylikeway。Isawitallduringtheonemomentwewerenatural。Generallywewereclatteringafterthemarriedone,whom——likeafool——Itookforafool。Butforonemomentwewerenatural,andduringthatmomentMissPembroketoldalie,andmadeRickiebelieveitwasthetruth。"
  "Whatdidshesay?"
  "Shesaid`wesee’insteadof’Isee。’"
  Tilliardburstintolaughter。Thisjaundicedyoungphilosopher,withhiskinkyviewoflife,wastoomuchforhim。
  "Shesaid’wesee,’"repeatedAnsell,"insteadof’Isee,’andshemadehimbelievethatitwasthetruth。Shecaughthimandmakeshimbelievethathecaughther。Shecametoseemeandmakeshimthinkthatitishisidea。ThatiswhatImeanwhenI
  saythatsheisalady。"
  "Youaretoosubtleforme。Mydulleyescouldonlyseetwohappypeople。"
  "Ineversaidtheyweren’thappy。"
  "Then,mydearAnsell,whyareyousocutup?It’sbeastlywhenafriendmarries,——andIgranthe’sratheryoung,——butIshouldsayit’sthebestthingforhim。Adecentwoman——andyouhaveprovednotonethingagainsther——adecentwomanwillkeephimuptothemarkandstophimgettingslack。She’llmakehimresponsibleandmanly,formuchasIlikeRickie,Ialwaysfindhimalittleeffeminate。And,really,"——hisvoicegrewsharper,forhewasirritatedbyAnsell’sconceit,"and,really,youtalkasifyouweremixedupintheaffair。Theypayacivilvisittoyourrooms,andyouseenothingbutdarkplotsandchallengestowar。"
  "War!"criedAnsell,crashinghisfiststogether。"It’swar,then!"
  "Oh,whatalotoftommy—rot,"saidTilliard。"Can’tamanandwomangetengaged?Mydearboy——excusemetalkinglikethis——whatonearthisittodowithus?"
  "We’rehisfriends,andIhopewealwaysshallbe,butweshan’tkeephisfriendshipbyfighting。We’reboundtofallintothebackground。Wifefirst,friendssomewayafter。Youmayresenttheorder,butitisordainedbynature。"
  "Thepointis,notwhat’sordainedbynatureoranyotherfool,butwhat’sright。"
  "Youarehopelesslyunpractical,"saidTilliard,turningaway。
  "Andletmeremindyouthatyou’vealreadygivenawayyourcasebyacknowledgingthatthey’rehappy。"
  "Sheishappybecauseshehasconquered;heishappybecausehehasatlasthungalltheworld’sbeautyontoasinglepeg。Hewasalwaystryingtodoit。Heusedtocallthepeghumanity。
  Willeitherofthesehappinesseslast?Hiscan’t。Hersonlyforatime。Ifightthiswomannotonlybecauseshefightsme,butbecauseIforeseethemostappallingcatastrophe。ShewantsRickie,partlytoreplaceanothermanwhomshelosttwoyearsago,partlytomakesomethingoutofhim。Heistowrite。Intimeshewillgetsickofthis。Hewon’tgetfamous。Shewillonlyseehowthinheisandhowlame。Shewilllongforajollierhusband,andIdon’tblameher。And,havingmadehimthoroughlymiserableanddegraded,shewillbolt——ifshecandoitlikealady。"
  SuchweretheopinionsofStewartAnsell。
  IX
  SevenletterswritteninJune:——
  CambridgeDearRickie,Iwouldratherwrite,andyoucanguesswhatkindofletterthisiswhenIsayitisafaircopy:Ihavebeenmakingroughdraftsallthemorning。WhenItalkIgetangry,andalsoattimestrytobeclever——tworeasonswhyIfailtogetattentionpaidtome。
  Thisisaletteroftheprudentsort。Ifitmakesyoubreakofftheengagement,itsworkisdone。Youarenotapersonwhooughttomarryatall。Youareunfittedinbody:thatweoncediscussed。Youarealsounfittedinsoul:youwantandyouneedtolikemanypeople,andamanofthatsortoughtnottomarry。
  "Youneverwereattachedtothatgreatsect"whocanlikeonepersononly,andifyoutrytoenterityouwillfinddestruction。IhavereadinbooksandIcannotaffordtodespisebooks,theyareallthatIhavetogoby——thatmenandwomendesiredifferentthings。Manwantstolovemankind;womanwantstoloveoneman。Whenshehashimherworkisover。SheistheemissaryofNature,andNature’sbiddinghasbeenfulfilled。ButmandoesnotcareadamnforNature——oratleastonlyaverylittledamn。Hecaresforahundredthingsbesides,andthemorecivilizedheisthemorehewillcarefortheseotherhundredthings,anddemandnotonly——awifeandchildren,butalsofriends,andwork,andspiritualfreedom。
  Ibelieveyoutobeextraordinarilycivilized。——Yoursever,S。A。