-a voice good for the nerves. 'It comes generally when
one's stomach is out of order. You wake at half-past two in the
morning, and suffer infernally from the blackest pessimism. It's
morbid--yes; but for all that it may be a glimpse of the truth. Health
and good spirits, just as likely as not, are the deceptive condition.'

'Exactly. But for the power of deceiving ourselves, we couldn't live at
all. It's not a question of theory, but of fact.'

'I fought it out with myself,' said Basil, after a sip of whisky, 'at
the time of my "exodus from Houndsditch". There's a point in the life
of every man who has brains, when it becomes a possibility that he may
kill himself. Most of us have it early, but it depends on
circumstances. I was like Johnson's friend: be as philosophical as I
might, cheerfulness kept breaking in. And at last I let cheerfulness
have its way. As far as I know'--he gurgled a laugh--'Schopenhauer did
the same.'

Harvey puffed at his pipe before answering.

'Yes; and I suppose we may call that intellectual maturity. It's bad
for a man when he _can't_ mature--which is my case. I seem to be as far
from it as ever. Seriously, I should think few men ever had so slow a
development. I don't stagnate: there's always movement; but--putting
aside the religious question--my stage at present is yours of twenty
years ago. Yet, not even that; for you started better than I did. You
were never a selfish lout--a half-baked blackguard----'

'Nor you either, my dear fellow.'

'But I was! I've got along fairly well in self-knowledge; I can follow
my course in the past clearly enough. If I had my rights, I should live
to about a hundred and twenty, and go on ripening to the end. That
would be a fair proportion. It's confoundedly hard to think that I'm a
good deal past the middle of life, yet morally and intellectually am
only beginning it.'

'It only means, Rolfe, that we others have a pretty solid conceit of
ourselves.--Listen! "We have heard the chimes at midnight, Master
Shallow." I don't apply the name to you; but you'll be none the worse
for a good night's sleep. Let us be off.'

Harvey slept much better than of late. There was an air of comfort in
this guest-chamber which lulled the mind. Not that the appointments
were more luxurious than in his own bedroom, for Morton had neither the
means nor the desire to equip his house with perfections of modern
upholstery; but every detail manifested a care and taste and d