“Could you ever suppose, Oscar, that any animal except an invalid (an animal who has four feet at that, instead of two like my venerable gentlemen) could permit itself to be so slow like them?
“I laughed till my side ached.
“Funny old men!
“Every sort of sweat fell from their brows when they dragged their fatigued feet home not accompanied by even one inch of any animal tail.
“‘I have never heard yet, Mr. Poet, of a squirrel turned to turnip,’ I gibed.
“I dread old age, because it makes woman inquisitive, and man silly. Inquisitiveness is tasteless like wax, while silliness is helpless, like a fish on the sand.
“I fear you are silly already, when you say that you sat up late looking at my picture.
“Sat up late?
“What will you do if your mamma thinks you can’t sleep from hard drink when you yawn continually at the table?
“Please, don’t do it again!