atisfied. Take my word for it, Vic,
you'll have a bad five minutes on your deathbed!"

I listened in silence. I felt ill and dispirited and disinclined for
talk.

"That's all Horace. I don't care much about Latin as a whole, but I do
think he is splendid. I'd have that book made the general testament.
I'd have it taught in all the Board Schools and sworn on in the Law
Courts. I'd have every fellow take it as a guide through life; if he
really acts up to it, it ensures his happiness. Its philosophy beats
all the religions hollow. 'Take the day.' 'Put no trust in to-morrow.'
'Seek not to know the future; whatever it is, bear it.' 'Each night be
able to say I have lived.' 'Retire from life, satisfied, as from a
banquet.' And so on ad lib. You know it all, Victor. You were brought
up upon it, but you haven't profited by it--not a scrap. Well, I'm
going!"

He leant forward, picked up his shoes, and went into his own room. It
was about twelve when he came in that night and found me just finishing
off a chapter. The fire had gone out from neglect; the window stood
open and the lace curtains waved in the damp night wind. Howard stalked
across the room and banged the glass doors shut, and told me it was
beastly cold in here. I was just fully absorbed in the closing passages
of my scene, and felt a nervous irritation at being interrupted.

"There's a fire-lighter behind the scuttle, throw it into the grate and
you'll soon have a blaze," I said, without looking up.

Howard drew off his lavender gloves and flung them down on the table.
One fell on the last sheet I had written.

"Confound you! do be careful!" I muttered, picking it up, and noticing
the great blur it left on the page. "The sheets are wet."

"It doesn't matter, they're not a new pair!" answered Howard, coolly,
going down on his knees to light up the fire. He accomplished this in a
few minutes, and then settled down in the long chair with a cigar. I
wrote on feverishly, expecting to be addressed and interrupted every
moment. It was a great bore his coming in just now, disturbing me. I
had a difficult thing to express, and I was just pursuing the tail end
of an idea I could not quite grasp. My pen hovered uncertainly over the
paper. I could not exactly give words to the impression in my brain,
and the sense that he was going to speak, about to speak each second,
worried me. At the same time I never wished to be ungracious to Howard
when he did return to our room