He paused in his homely talk to smile at something The Author had
just said. Then his eyes strayed to Mr. Nicholas Jelnik, being
talked to by Mrs. Scarboro and an apple-faced Confederate with
pellucid blue eyes and a renowned trigger-finger.
"That is the most gifted--and detached--human being I have ever
known," said the secretary. "But it is his misfortune to have no
saving responsibilities. What he needs is to fall in love with the
right woman and marry her."
"You mean he should marry some great lady, some dazzling beauty?
Naturally."
"Heaven forbid!" said the secretary, with unexpected vigor. "No, no,
Miss Smith, that is not what such a man as Nicholas Jelnik needs!"
"But it may be what he wants," said I.
"I should never think so, myself," Mr. Johnson replied thoughtfully;
"and I have seen a good deal of him. No, Jelnik doesn't want great
beauty; he has enough of it himself. For the same reason, he doesn't
want brilliant qualities. He needs quiet, dependable goodness, the
changeless and unswerving affection of a steadfast heart."
But I could not agree with this simple-minded young man, who had in
himself the qualities he named.
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