第60章 THE EXPERIENCES OF THE A. C.(12)

"`Elvira,' said he, with a benevolent condescension, `I have no doubt you think so, for your mind belongs to the lowest and most material sphere. You have your place in Nature, and you fill it;but it is not for you to judge of intelligences which move only on the upper planes.'

"`Hollins,' said Shelldrake, `Elviry's a good wife and a sensible woman, and I won't allow you to turn up your nose at her.'

"`I am not surprised,' he answered, `that you should fail to stand the test. I didn't expect it.'

"`Let me try it on YOU!' cried Shelldrake. `You, now, have some intellect,--I don't deny that,--but not so much, by a long shot, as you think you have. Besides that, you're awfully selfish in your opinions. You won't admit that anybody can be right who differs from you. You've sponged on me for a long time; but I suppose I've learned something from you, so we'll call it even. I think, however, that what you call acting according to impulse is simply an excuse to cover your own laziness.'

"`Gosh! that's it!' interrupted Perkins, jumping up; then, recollecting himself, he sank down on the steps again, and shook with a suppressed `Ho! ho! ho!'

"Hollins, however, drew himself up with an exasperated air.

"`Shelldrake,' said he, `I pity you. I always knew your ignorance, but I thought you honest in your human character. I never suspected you of envy and malice. However, the true Reformer must expect to be misunderstood and misrepresented by meaner minds.

That love which I bear to all creatures teaches me to forgive you.

Without such love, all plans of progress must fail. Is it not so, Abel?'

"Shelldrake could only ejaculate the words, `Pity!' `Forgive?' in his most contemptuous tone; while Mrs. Shelldrake, rocking violently in her chair, gave utterance to that peculiar clucking, `TS, TS, TS, TS,' whereby certain women express emotions too deep for words.

"Abel, roused by Hollins's question, answered, with a sudden energy--"`Love! there is no love in the world. Where will you find it?

Tell me, and I'll go there. Love! I'd like to see it! If all human hearts were like mine, we might have an Arcadia; but most men have no hearts. The world is a miserable, hollow, deceitful shell of vanity and hypocrisy. No: let us give up. We were born before our time: this age is not worthy of us.'

"Hollins stared at the speaker in utter amazement. Shelldrake gave a long whistle, and finally gasped out--"`Well, what next?'

"None of us were prepared for such a sudden and complete wreck of our Arcadian scheme. The foundations had been sapped before, it is true; but we had not perceived it; and now, in two short days, the whole edifice tumbled about our ears. Though it was inevitable, we felt a shock of sorrow, and a silence fell upon us. Only that scamp of a Perkins Brown, chuckling and rubbing his boot, really rejoiced. I could have kicked him.