With this sort of vague understanding we parted for some months.
FOOTNOTES:
[25] _Cfr._ Appendix.
[26] See Appendix.
CHAPTER XXII
"A GREAT ROMANTIC PASSION"
There is no more difficult problem for the writer, no harder task than
to decide how far he should allow himself to go in picturing human
weakness. We have all come from the animal and can all without any
assistance from books imagine easily enough the effects of unrestrained
self-indulgence. Yet it is instructive and pregnant with warning to
remark that, as soon as the sheet anchor of high resolve is gone, the
frailties of man tend to become master-vices. All our civilisation is
artificially built up by effort; all high humanity is the reward of
constant striving against natural desires.
In the fall of this year, 1898, I sold _The Saturday Review_ to Lord
Hardwicke and his friends, and as soon as the purchase was completed, I
think in November, I wired to Oscar that I should be in Paris in a short
time, and ready to take him to the South for his holiday. I sent him
some money to pave the way.
A few days later I crossed and wired to him from Calais to dine with me
at Durand's, and to begin dinner if I happened to be late.
While waiting for dinner, I said:
"I want to stay two or three days in Paris to see some pictures. Would
you be ready to start South on Thursday next?" It was then Monday, I
think.
"On Thursday?" he repeated. "Yes, Frank, I think so."
"There is some money for anything you may want to buy," I said and
handed him a cheque I had made payable to self and signed, for he knew
where he could cash it.
"How good of you, Frank, I cannot thank you enough. You start on
Thursday," he added, as if considering it.
"If you would rather wait a little," I said, "say so: I'm quite
willing."
"No, Frank, I think Thursday will do. We are really going to the South
for the whole winter. How wonderful; how gorgeous it will be."
We had a great dinner and talked and talked. He spoke of some of the new
Frenchmen, and at great length of Pierre Louys, whom he described as a
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