X 



GROWING OLD 



I AM afraid that I am drawing near to the end of 

 my talk. I have run myself dry — very dry ; and, as 

 I have had occasion to observe before, a drink is 

 always welcome. To tell you the truth, I feel a 

 bit sorry at the thought of laying down my pen. 

 I cannot quite make up my mind whether it is 

 that I have grown to be rather fond of you in a 

 sort of way, or whether it is that everyone enjoys a 

 little talk about himself. The great advantage of 

 being allowed to talk about yourself is that you can 

 turn yourself inside out, so to speak. The outside 

 of everybody is very liable to get worn and frayed 

 and dirty, while the inside may still be quite neat 

 and smart and clean. When people talk about 

 you, they generally talk about the outside ; but 

 when you talk about yourself, you naturally see 

 the inside of the jacket, and imagine yourself to be 

 quite a decent and presentable person. 



I am rather afraid, from casual remarks which 



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