“I have never thought of it,” she answered. “I should n't like to die, it is true, but I don't know why. Most people seem to spend two-thirds of their existence in a state of boredom, and the rest in sleep.”
“That is because they reject my poor faun's inheritance.”
“I have been asking you what that is.”
“The joy and laughter of life. They put it from them.”
“How?”
“They draw the soul's curtains and light the gas, instead of letting God's sunshine stream in.”
Norma turned away from the picture with a laugh.
“That reminds me of the first time I met you. You told me to go and ventilate my soul. It gave me quite a shock, I assure you. But I have been trying to follow your precept ever since. Don't you think I am a little bit fresher?”
For the moment the girl still lingering in her five-and-twenty hard years flashed to the surface, adorably warming the cold, finely sculptured face, and bringing rare laughter into her eyes. Jimmie marvelled at the infinite sweetness of her, and fed his poor hungry soul thereon.
“You look like a midsummer morning,” he said unsteadily.