“No; you’re frigid enough as it is. Besides, ice at the present moment is too scarce to be expended on even so important a matter as advertisement.”
Banks wheeled forward an arm chair, and sat down opposite his lordship. A useful feature of a panama hat is its flexibility. You may roll one brim to fit the hand, and use the other as a fan, and this Banks did with the perfection of practice.
“What’s the cause of the unrest, Stranleigh?”
“Thinking. That’s the cause of unrest all the world over. Whenever people begin to think, there is trouble.”
“I’ve never noticed any undue thoughtfulness in you, Stranleigh.”
“That’s just it. Thinking doesn’t agree with me, and as you hint, I rarely indulge in it, but this is a land that somehow stimulates thought, and thought compels action. Action is all very well in moderation, but in these United States of yours it is developed into a fever, or frenzy rather, curable only by a breakdown or death.”
“Do you think it’s as bad as all that?”
“Yes, I do. You call it enterprise; I call it greed. I’ve never yet met an American who knew when he’d had enough.”
“Did you ever meet an Englishman who knew that?”