That alone
persuades me that one does no harm by speaking, even if there are
other passers-by who say what a tiresome note it is, that they have
heard it a hundred times before, and cannot think why the stupid
bird does not vary his song. Personally, I would rather hear the
yellow-hammer utter his sharp monotonous notes, with the dropping
cadence at the end, than that he should try to imitate the
nightingale.
However, as I have said, I am quite willing to believe that the
critics speak, or think they speak, in the interests of the public,
and with a tender concern that the public should not be bored. And
I will take my leave of them by saying, like Miss Flite, that I
will ask them to accept a blessing, and that when I receive a
judgment, I shall confer estates impartially.
But my last word shall be to my readers, and I will beg of them not
to be deceived either by experts or by critics; on the one hand,
not to be frightened away from speculating and reflecting about the
possible meanings of life by the people who say that no one under
the degree of a Bachelor of Divinity has any right to tackle the
matter; and, on the other hand, I would implore them to believe
that a quiet life is not necessarily a dull life, and that the
cutting off of alcohol does not necessarily mean a lowering of
physical vitality; but rather that if they will abstain for a
little from dependence upon excitement, they will find their lives
flooded by a new kind of quality, which heightens perception and
increases joy.
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