The New Optimism


PART I
ON THE BEACH

The Beach We Came From

I WAS standing by the sea-wall, watching the green water foaming round the stakes of the breakwater, when my companion, a charming and elegant woman, turned to me:

“What is there in water that fascinates one?” she asked.

“Do you feel the fascination?”

“Yes.”

“Do you not know why you feel it?”

“No.”