A letter and some printed matter fell out. She picked up the printed matter first. It was a page proof of a book, containing a dedication to herself. She read it with a queer feeling, but her apathy had gone.
“To my Friend, Claudia Currey,
whose sympathy and friendship have inspired me to put down on paper some facts I have been able to gather, together with some purely personal views on that most baffling and fascinating of all subjects—sociology. I beg her to accept the dedication of this book, with all its faults and shortcomings, of which the author is painfully aware, in memory of our many talks about ‘humans.’”
Her eyes filled with tears, and she could hardly read the letter that accompanied the page.
“My dear Claudia,” it ran, “I was horribly disappointed, childishly disappointed the other day when you told me you had heard about my forthcoming book. I think you must have got it from some inside source, for it is not yet announced to the public. I wanted the enclosed to be a surprise to you, and now the squib won’t go off! I asked and obtained Gilbert’s permission to put in this little dedication, because you really did inspire it. You always liked people who ‘did things,’ and your interest in life and ‘humans’ quickened mine. How dare you say you will order a copy as soon as it is out? You know you’ll get an advance copy, the very first. I do hope you will like it, at least, a little. Now it is in print, I realize what a little I have been able to say on a vast subject. All I can say in extenuation is, I’ve done my best, though perhaps I don’t deserve any marks for that. But it’s such a huge field to try and cover. Do you remember when you asked me for a book on the subject and I gave you Lecky’s ‘History of European Morals’? I’ve always been cheered by your remark after reading it. ‘Only a Methusaleh could hope to come to any definite conclusions, and then he might be ready to lie down and die!’
“There are no definite conclusions in my book, because I try hard to keep my mind plastic. Some day, when I’m a greybeard with stooping shoulders and several deaf ears, perhaps I’ll do something better.
“I’m sending you a new ‘Lear Nonsense’ book. Rather jolly, I think. Do look at the picture of the German and the baby who is gedroppen.
“Always your admiring friend,
“Colin Paton.”