And there'll surely be melody in the
closing of the door which shuts you in to solitude after this
distracting day. Listen to it! Good-bye."
He long remembered the peculiar parting look she gave him, satiric,
mischievous, yet charmingly provocative. She was keen of mind, she was
brilliant of wit, but she was all woman--no doubt of that. He was
suddenly sure that she had known well enough all day the effect that she
had had upon him, and that it had amused her. His cheek reddened at the
thought. He wondered why on earth he should care to pursue an attempt at
acquaintance with one whose manner with him was frequently so disturbing
to his self-conceit. Well, at least he must forget her now, and redeem
himself with an hour's solid effort.
But, strange to say, although he had found it difficult to work in her
presence, in her absence he found it impossible to work at all. He stuck
doggedly to his desk for the appointed hour, then gave over the attempt
and departed. The moral of all this, which he discovered he could not
escape, was that though he had taken his university degree, and had
supplemented the academic education with the broader one of travel and
observation, he had not at his command that first requisite for
efficient labour: the power of sustained application.
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