The Jonathan Papers 



A Placid Runaway 



JONATHAN and I differ about a great many 

 things; how otherwise are we to avoid the 

 sloughs of bigoted self-satisfaction? But upon 

 one point we agree: we are both convinced 

 that on a beautiful morning in April or May 

 or June there is just one thing that any right- 

 minded person really wants to do. That is to 

 turn a deaf ear to duty and a blind eye to all 

 other pleasures, and find a trout brook. 

 We are, indeed, able to understand that duty 

 may be too much for him may be quite 

 indifferent to his deaf ear and shout in the 

 other, or may even seize him by the shoulders 

 and hold him firmly in his place. He may not 

 be able so much as to drop a line in the brown 

 water all through the maddening spring days. 

 But that he should not want to ache to 

 this we cannot understand. We do know that 



