human
Yes, she answered, with a quiet dignity which he could not gainsay.
gpt
And that is the very reason that I will not marry you. I love you too well--so well that I can never allow you to become the father of Sidney Lorimer's child.
human
I believe my world is overcrowded,
gpt
Arlt, why don't you take the hint? Bobby asked languidly.
human
I am too comfortable to stir, and she evidently wishes to get rid of somebody.
gpt
Possibly she means me; but I was the last to come, so I shall outstay you both, Miss Gannion said, laughing.
human
At least, Sally, your hospitality does you credit.
gpt
I wouldn't make any tea for us, Sally. I know you are afraid it may not hold out for your crowded universe, and we three have been here often enough to have dispelled any illusions about the quality of your cups. Two are cracked, and one has a nick exactly in the spot where we drink. I suspect Arlt of having cut his wisdom teeth on it.
human
Only women cut their wisdom teeth on a teacup, Miss Gannion observed.
gpt
But really, Sally, I would save my tea until the crowd shows itself.
human
You interrupted me in the midst of my thesis.
gpt
It is our only chance to get in a word. We have to insert its thin edge at a comma, or else keep still. You never have any conversational semicolons, to say nothing of periods.
human
As I was saying, Sally repeated pertinaciously;
gpt
What about now? Bobby queried.
human
Here are we, and here is time. Which is lacking: enjoyment, or friendship?
gpt
Oh, this is an interlude, and doesn't count. We shall just get into the midst of a little rational conversation, though, and two or three stupid people will come in and reduce us to talking about the weather.
human
You might send out cards, Arlt suggested, with the hesitating accent which was so characteristic of him.
gpt
Why not announce that on Tuesdays you are at home to clever people and friends only?
human
Yes; but it is no subject for joking, Sally persisted.
gpt
Last Tuesday in all that storm, for the first time this winter, Mr. Thayer came to see me. I know how busy he is, and I was just preparing to make the most of his call, when Mrs. Stanley came swishing and creaking into the room, and she babbled about her servants and her lumbago until Mr. Thayer took his departure. I wanted to administer poison.
human
Try an anodyne, Bobby advised her.
gpt
They say that stout people yield easily to their influence. By the way, why is it polite to call a woman stout, but rude in the extreme to dub her fat? That is one of the problems I have never been able to solve. I used the wrong word in regard to Mrs. Stanley, one night, and she overheard me. Since then, she hauls in her latch-string hand over hand, whenever I turn the corner.
human
Do you mind, Bobby? Sally inquired.
gpt
The two most peaceful years of my social life were the years immediately following the day I advised Mrs. Stanley not to attempt _Juliet_ in public. Lately, I have wished that her memory were just a bit more retentive. Tell me, has anybody seen Beatrix, this week?
human
She was at Carnegie Hall, last night.
gpt
Really?
human
Yes, I coaxed her into going. You ought to feel honored, Arlt; it is the first music she has heard, this season.
gpt
Hasn't she been to hear Mr. Thayer?
human
No; she hasn't heard him since his first season. I tell her she has no idea how he has developed, nor how much she is losing; but she seems to have lost her love for music.
gpt
Poor, dear girl! I don't wonder,
human
Isn't there a certain comfort to be gained from it? he asked.
gpt
I hoped--I had thought music was to inspire and help people, not to amuse them.
human
It does in theory, Bobby returned;
gpt
What did she say?
human
Not very much; but her face at the close of your _Andante_ told the story. You touched her on the raw, Arlt; but you roused her pluck to bear it. I think she will send you a note, to-day.
gpt
I wonder if you realize what an event for your friends this symphony was,