You've only been in the parish three
years, and yet you've shown me a confidence immense, inspiring! It is as
the Greek philosopher said, 'To conceive the human mind aright is the
greatest gift from the gods.' And to you, who never read a line of
philosophy, without doubt, you have done the thing that is greatest. It
says, 'I teach neighbourliness and life's exchange.' Madame, your house
ought to be called Neighbourhood House. It is the epitome of the spirit,
it is the shrine of--"
He was working himself up to a point where he could forget all the things
that trouble humanity, in the inebriation of an idealistic soul which had
a casing of passion, but the passion of the mind and not of the body; for
Jean Jacques had not a sensual drift in his organism. If there had been a
sensual drift, probably Carmen would still have been the lady of his
manor, and he would still have been a magnate and not a potential
bankrupt; for in her way Carmen had been a kind of balance to his
judgment in the business of life, in spite of her own material and (at
the very last) sensual strain. It was a godsend to Jean Jacques to have
such an inspiration as Virginie Poucette had given him. He could not in
these days, somehow, get the fires of his soul lighted, as he was wont to
do in the old times, and he loved talking--how he loved talking of great
things! He was really going hard, galloping strong, when Virginie
interrupted him, first by an exclamation, then, as insistently he
repeated the words, "It is the epitome of the spirit, the shrine of--"
She put out a hand, interrupting him, and said: "Yes, yes, M'sieu' Jean
Jacques, that's as good as Moliere, I s'pose, or the Archbishop at
Quebec, but are you going to take it, the two thousand dollars? I made a
long speech, I know, but that was to tell you why I come with the
money"--she drew out a pocketbook--"with the order on my lawyer to hand
the cash over to you.
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