Afterwards he would occupy
himself with the letters from his land-steward or with the affairs
of his mess, till dinner-time. He would dine and pass the evening
playing cards, or playing billiards with Leonora or at social
functions of one kind or another. And the greater part of his life
was taken up by that--by far the greater part of his life. His
love-affairs, until the very end, were sandwiched in at odd
moments or took place during the social evenings, the dances and
dinners. But I guess I have made it hard for you, O silent listener,
to get that impression. Anyhow, I hope I have not given you the
idea that Edward Ashburnham was a pathological case. He wasn't.
He was just a normal man and very much of a sentimentalist. I
dare say the quality of his youth, the nature of his mother's
influence, his ignorances, the crammings that he received at the
hands of army coaches--I dare say that all these excellent
influences upon his adolescence were very bad for him. But we all
have to put up with that sort of thing and no doubt it is very bad
for all of us. Nevertheless, the outline of Edward's life was an
outline perfectly normal of the life of a hard-working, sentimental
and efficient professional man.
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