" Their metaphors are as bad
as their morals.
He laughed heartily at this example of fervid eloquence, and then
we rose from the table. He had to go to the office that evening, and
I came away soon after dinner. I had nothing to do and went home
reflecting upon all the great man had said.
I began shortly to see the truth of what he had told me - men
licking the hand of riches with the tongue of flattery men so
stricken with the itch of vanity that they grovelled for the touch of
praise; men even who would do perjury for applause. I do not say
that most of the men I saw were of that ilk, but enough to show the
tendency of life in a great town.
I was filled with wonder at first by meeting so many who had been
everywhere and seen everything, who had mastered all sciences
and all philosophies and endured many perils on land and sea. I
had met liars before - it was no Eden there in the north country -
and some of them had attained a good degree of efficiency, but
they lacked the candour and finish of the metropolitan school.
Pages:
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353