“Have I the other signs?”
“Yes, a magnificent, perhaps a matchless, constitutional organization. But you have evaded my question as to your age; was it an impertinence to put it?”
“No. I came of age—let me see—three years ago.”
“So long since? Is it possible? I wish I had your secret!”
“Secret! What secret?”
“The secret of preserving so much of boyish freshness in the wear and tear of man-like passions and man-like thoughts.”
“You are still young yourself,—under forty?”
“Oh, yes! some years under forty.”
“And Nature gave you a grander frame and a finer symmetry of feature than she bestowed on me.”
“Pooh! pooh! You have the beauty that must charm the eyes of woman, and that beauty in its sunny forenoon of youth. Happy man! if you love and wish to be sure that you are loved again.”