There were two subjects I never discussed: my dead wife and Cashel- mara. So when I first met a woman with whom I could discuss both subjects with ease, it was hardly surprising that I should once again flirt with the idea of marriage. I had been a widower for eight years by the time I visited America in the spring of 1859. My friends had long since convinced them- selves that I was wedded to my wife s memory, but none of my friends ever seemed to consider that even the most cherished memory does have certain shortcomings. One cannot conduct a stimulating conversation with a memory; one cannot take it to the theater or to the.country or to bed. The void in the bedchamber is the least of one s problems, since a man in my position can always find a mis- tress; but the void elsewhere is less easy to fill, and I had begun to despair of ever finding a woman who would do more than spend my money, flaunt my title and bore me to death. Naturally I had no wish to fall in love. At my time of life a man makes himself a laughingstock if he succumbs to some ludicrous infatuation, and, besides, I had too much pride and good sense to
|
商品评论(0条)