human
It isn't so easy to say airy nothings to an artist, when you know him behind the scenes,
gpt
Talk philosophy, then,
human
But I must say something to him, after he gets through singing; and now that I have seen him, three or four times, I can't launch into a sea of platitudes.
gpt
I thought women could always go to sea in a platitude. It is as leaky as a sieve, and not half so likely to upset and leave one floating without any support at all.
human
Beware of Bobby, when he turns metaphorical! He suggests a second-hand curio shop.
gpt
Your own rhetoric isn't above reproach, Miss Van Osdel. But has it ever occurred to you that Young America has abandoned its sieve for a man of war? I met a callow junior from Harvard, the other day, and by way of making polite conversation, I asked him to suggest a clever subject for a debate. He promptly told me that at his eating club they had been discussing the origins of morality.
human
Master Bobby
gpt
In our time we took our pleasures less sadly, Lorimer. What are we all coming to?
human
To congenital senility.
gpt
That is nothing more nor less than the frugal trick of making both ends meet,
human
But what shall I say to Mr. Thayer?
gpt
That it is a pleasant evening.
human
That you hope he isn't very tired with singing so much,
gpt
It is your turn, Mr. Lorimer. You know him better than the rest of us. What shall you say to him?
human
I know him so well that I rarely talk to him about his singing, Lorimer replied, with sudden gravity.
gpt
Thayer is too large a man to smack his lips over sugar-plums. He knows exactly what I think of his voice, that it is one of the best baritone voices I have ever heard. He also knows that I am perfectly aware of the fact when he sings unusually badly or unusually well. Under those conditions, there is no especial need of our discussing the matter. One can have reservations with one's friends, you know.