human
I wonder whether you ever feel any regret at having left England for this country?
gpt
I did so pretty often when I first came out, he answered with a smile.
human
In those days I had to work in icy water and carry massive lumps of rock.
gpt
I dare say regret was a natural feeling then; but that wasn't quite what I meant.
human
So I supposed, Vane confessed.
gpt
Well, I'd better own that when I'd spent a week or two in England--at the Dene--I began to think I'd missed a good deal by not staying at home. It struck me that the life you led had a singular charm. Everything went so smoothly there, among the sheltering hills. One felt that care and anxiety could not creep in. Somehow, the place reminded me of Avalon.
human
The impression was by no means correct, smiled Evelyn,
gpt
But I don't think you have finished. Won't you go on?
human
Then if I get out of my depth, you mustn't blame me. By and by I discovered that charm wasn't the right word--the place was permeated with a narcotic spell.
gpt
Narcotic? Do you think the term's more appropriate?
human
I do. Narcotics, one understands, are insidious things. If you take them regularly, in small doses, they increase their hold on you until you become wrapped up in dreams and unrealities. If, however, you get too big a dose of them at the beginning, it leads to a vigorous revulsion. It's nature's warning and remedy.
gpt
You're not flattering; but I almost fancy you're right.
human
We are told that man was made to struggle--to use all his powers. If he rests too long beside the still backwaters of life, in fairy-like dales, they're apt to atrophy, and he finds himself slack and nerveless when he goes out to face the world again.