"What!"
"That you have news every day."
"Yes, that is quite true, every day. I get tender ardent letters. Every day by the same post. But what does that prove? Why, I write letters which are yet more ardent and even more tender and yet...."
"Yes," said George, who understood him. And he hazarded the question: "Why don't you stay with her?"
Heinrich shrugged his shoulders. "Tell me yourself, George, wouldn't it strike you as slightly humorous for a man to burn his boats on account of a love affair like that and trot about the world with a little actress...."
"Personally, I should regret it very much ... but humorous ... where does the humour come in?"
"No, I have no desire to do it," said Heinrich in a hard voice.
"But if you ... but if you were to take it very seriously ... if you asked her point blank ... mightn't the young lady perhaps give up her career?"
"Possibly, but I am not going to ask her, I don't want to ask her. No, better pain than responsibility."
"Would it be such a great responsibility?" asked George. "What I mean is ... is the girl's talent so pronounced, is she really so keen on her art, that it would be really a sacrifice for her to give the thing up."