[Illustration: The Living-Room. From a photograph
by M. H. Fanning]
The two men were soon talking companionably. When persons of wide
reading and reflection, and of philosophic bent, who have lived
long and been mellowed by life, come together, the interchange
of thought is bound to be valuable; things are so well said, so
inevitably said, that the listener thinks he cannot forget the
manner of saying; but thoughts crowd thick and fast, comments on
men and measures, on books and events, are numerous and varied,
but hard to recapture. The logs ignite, sending out their cheering
heat, the coals glow, the sparks fly upward, warmth and radiance
envelop us; but an attempt to warm the reader by the glow of that
fireside talk is almost as futile as an effort to dispel to-day's
cold by the fire of yesterday.
A few deserted cottages perched on the rocks near by show us where
the summer neighbors of our host live, but at all seasons his wild
neighbors are the ones he hobnobs with the most; while his indoor
companions are Montaigne, Sainte-Beuve, Carlyle, Arnold, Wordsworth,
Darwin, Huxley, Emerson, Whitman, Bergson, and many others, ancient
and modern.
"I've been rereading Emerson's essay on 'Immortality' lately,
evenings in my study down there by the river," said Mr.
Pages:
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200