These men, I take it, had a sense in
which we their descendants are wholly deficient--the sense of the
solace, of the pleasurable companionship, to be derived from works of
art. That sense has been destroyed. The Japanese alone, of all moderns,
still foster an ingenuous affection which prompts them to cling closely
to these things of beauty, to press them to their hearts as loving
friends; the rest of us, surrounded by a world of sordid ugliness, have
become positively afraid of their fair but reproachful shapes. Ah, Mr.
van Koppen, that was the age of true refinement, the age of gold!
Nowadays--nowadays we only carry our troubles about with us."
The bishop was touched by these moving words.
Mr. van Koppen, wearing a benevolent twinkle in his eye, said to
himself:
"What a lordly liar! Almost as good as myself."
Luncheon was announced.
CHAPTER XXX
"You are quite right," the Count was saying to Mr. Heard. "The ideal
cuisine should display an individual character; it should offer a menu
judiciously chosen from the kitchen-workshops of the most diverse lands
and peoples-a menu reflecting the master's alert and fastidious taste.
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