to be able to
see, dear Aurora--because I am those things and know it, they are the
things least to be feared in me. Do you suppose Marcus Aurelius was
really calm and philosophical? Because he, on the contrary, was anxious
and passionate, he wrote those maxims to try to live by. When you
_would_ go and be a negress, did I make a scene? I gnashed my teeth
and gnawed my knuckles, but when I saw you afterward, wasn't I decently
decent?"

"Yes, but you took to your bed. If I were Mrs. Gerald, and the Pope of
Rome sent for me to do Lew Dockstader for him and his cardinals, you
know you wouldn't let me go."

"You are wrong. I should make a point of it. I should only ask to be
permitted to retire into solitude until all the vulgar people had
stopped talking about it."

"Ah, you're a dear, funny boy; but put it out of your mind, Geraldino,
do, dear, when we're so happy as it is. Let's go on just as we've been
going; you know yourself that it's the wisest, and what really you would
prefer. If you've asked me to-day--mind, I don't say you _have_;
but if you have--to save my vanity and back up the proposal you didn't
really mean the other day,--because you're always such a gentleman;
you'd rather die than not behave like a gentleman,--let it go at that.
But if you should feel now that you've got to back up your declaration
that you're going to persist and follow this up, just ask me over again
every few days to show there's no unkind feeling, and I promise it will
be safe; I'll refuse you every time. It'll be our little standing joke.
For don't you go dreaming that I'm going to let go of you! You can call
me pudgy if I let you get away. I love you too dearly. Wasn't everything
all right and lovely until the other day when you came out with that
stilted speech, 'doing you the honor'? We'll take up again just where we
left off, and bimeby make fun of all this. You who've read all the books
ever written, don't you know of cases where two like us went on being
just friends, and taking comfort in each other on and on to the end of
the tale?"

"There have been examples, yes, a very few, and not on the whole
encouraging."

"You know we never thought of anything else until three days ago, and
were perfectly contented. Let's call all this in between a mistake, like
taking the wrong road and having to turn back to be where we were
before. Let's go back."

"Yes, let's go back. I won't bore you any more."

He had all in an instant