human
Why not? said a wit.
gpt
The Duke of Donnycastle always shakes hands with the pugilists at a mill.
human
Expected?
gpt
As I feared, she added, quickly.
human
I have always had a curiosity to know what these Oriental dances mean.
gpt
Oh, nothing in particular, now. This was an exhibition dance. Of course its origin, like all dancing, was religious. The fault I find with it is that it lacks seriousness, like the modern exhibition of the dancing dervishes for money.
human
Do you think, Mr. Mavick, that the decay of dancing is the reason our religion lacks seriousness? We are in Lent now, you know. Does this seem to you a Lenten performance?
gpt
Why, yes, to a degree. Anything that keeps you up till three o'clock in the morning has some penitential quality.
human
You give me a new view, Mr. Mavick. I confess that I did not expect to assist at what New Englanders call an 'evening meeting.' I thought Eros was the deity of the dance.
gpt
That, Mrs. Lamon, is a vulgar error. It is an ancient form of worship. Virtue and beauty are the same thing--the two graces.
human
What a nice apothegm! It makes religion so easy and agreeable.
gpt
As easy as gravitation.
human
Dear me, Mr. Mavick, I thought this was a question of levitation. You are upsetting all my ideas. I shall not have the comfort of repenting of this episode in Lent.
gpt
Oh yes; you can be sorry that the dancing was not more alluring.