human
I never heard of such a thing,
gpt
I don’t know how unusual it is, but it has happened more than once in our family. I remember my mother’s hair once turned in that way. But my mother had much sadness in her life.
human
Mrs. De Castro often speaks of your mother.
gpt
She was a brave woman. You have never seen her portrait? Sometime at The Towers you must. And you can see on her temples just what I speak of. But your home-making will have just the opposite effect on you. If care makes the hair white, happiness ought to make it browner than ever.
human
I suppose happiness is wholly a matter of illusion.
gpt
I don’t see that it makes much difference how we define it; the thing is to be happy. However, if what you say is so, you should cling to your illusions. Get all you can--I should--and keep all you can get.
human
You don’t mean to say you practise that?
gpt
Of course I do. And I think for a man I’ve kept my illusions very well.
human
For a _man_! Alice threw her head back.
gpt
That is very comfortable assurance.
human
What is it you object to in it?
gpt
To begin with, demanded Alice,
human
Oh, by no means. Far from it, I assure you.
gpt
He has every chance to. It is only the poor women who are constantly disillusionized in life.
human
You mustn’t be disillusionized, Mrs. MacBirney. Hope unceasingly.
gpt
I am not speaking of myself.
human
Nor am I speaking of you, only speaking through you to womankind. You ’poor women’ should not be discouraged. He raised his head as if he were very confident.
gpt
If we can hope, you can hope. I hope every day. I hope in a woman.
human
There, for instance, goes a woman, he continued, following up his point.
gpt
Look at her. Isn’t she pretty? I like her walk. And a woman’s walk! It is impossible to say how much depends on the walk. And all women that walk well have good feet; their heels set right and there is a pleasure in watching each sure foot-fall. Notice, for instance, that woman’s feet; her walk is perfect.
human
How closely observant!
gpt
She is well gowned--but everybody is well gowned. And her figure is good. Let us say, I hope in her, hope she will be all she looks. I follow the dream. In a breath, an instant, a twinkling, the illusion has vanished! She has spoken, or she has looked my way and I have seen her face. But even then the face is only the dial of the watch; it may be very fair. Sometime I see her mind--and everything is gone!
human
Would it be impertinent to ask who has put women up in this way to be inspected and criticised?
gpt
Not in the least. I am speaking only in illustration and if you are annoyed with me I shall miss making my point. Do I give up merely because I have lost an illusion? Not at all. Another springs up at once, and I welcome it. Let us live in our illusions; every time we part with one and find none to take its place we are poorer, Mrs. MacBirney, believe me.
human
Just the same, I think you are horridly critical of women.
gpt
Then you should advise me to cultivate my illusions in their direction.
human
I should if I thought it were necessary. As I have a very high opinion of women, I don’t think any illusions concerning them are necessary.
gpt
Loftily said. And I sha’n’t allow you to think my own opinion any less high. When I was a boy, women were all angels to me; they are not quite that, we know.
human
In spite of illusions.
gpt
But I don’t want to put them very much lower than the angels--and I don’t. I keep them up because I like to.
human
Not because they deserve it.
gpt
I won’t quarrel with you--because, then, they do deserve it. It is pleasant to be set right.
human
You haven’t said what you think of your own kind, as you call them--menkind.
gpt
Of course, I try not to think of them.