“Aunt Philomela proves the rule? I wish she were in better humor.”
“I wouldn’t for a fortune have her change,” he returned quickly.
“You don’t mind her sharp tongue?”
“It relieves me of a great responsibility.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Aunt Philomela,” he declared, “is attorney for the world. There’s nothing like a stiff prosecution to stiffen one’s own defense—if it’s a fair one.”
“Oh, I see.”
That was doubtful but she thought she saw, which is quite as satisfactory.
“In a way your aunt’s opposition is the old case of Art versus Reality,” he continued, “the Academy versus the Acme. But Lord forgive us, the controversy is a purely scholastic one. If we only get deep enough in our thoughts, as in our emotions, we find ourselves again all one. Aunt Philomela isn’t so suspicious of me as she is of my portfolio.”
“She isn’t really ferocious,” she assured him. “And she does appreciate your kindness.”