WARD GRUMBLES AT OUR INACTION. 197 



"When nearly dusk we went out to the open air, 

 as the evening was still and warm. 



Although naturally of retired habits, and quite 

 happy and content on the hillside alone, still I 

 fully appreciate the amenities of social life. True 

 enough, there are certain unpleasant phases, such as 

 public speechifying, private prosing, and occasional 

 balaam and bumptuousness ; so one must learn to 

 tolerate some things as a necessary consequence of 

 mixing freely in the world and sharing its many 

 pleasures ; and is it not pleasant to meet sociably 

 with the travelled and accomplished, or to listen to the 

 home truths of hard practical ability ? How pleasant 

 is a "twa-handed crack" with a man of sense and 

 good feeling, how charming the society of unaffected 

 women of the world, and how very nice a mild 

 flirtation with one at a time ! 



And so is THIS very pleasant, I thought as I 

 now reclined on the soft turf on this fair summer's 

 gloamin, while dreamily consuming an unexcep- 

 tionable Cabana, and now and again joining in the 

 cheerful conversation, or listening to the gentle 

 laughter of the girls, my mind occasionally wandering 

 far away, even to the polished Greek and luxurious 

 Eoman, whose social customs deprived them of 



