Some of the
apparent contradictions were so colossal--"
"We have everything on a large scale here," said the banker, breaking off
the ash of his cigar with the end of his little finger, "and we rather
pride ourselves on the size of our inconsistencies, even. I know something
of the state of things in Altruria, and, to be frank with you, I will say
that it seems to me preposterous. I should say it was impossible, if it
were not an accomplished fact; but I always feel bound to recognize the
thing done. You have hitched your wagon to a star, and you have made the
star go; there is never any trouble with wagons, but stars are not easily
broken to harness, and you have managed to get yours well in hand. As I
said, I don't believe in you, but I respect you." I thought this charming,
myself; perhaps because it stated my own mind about Altruria so exactly
and in terms so just and generous.
"Pretty good," said the doctor, in a murmur of satisfaction, at my ear,
"for a bloated bond-holder."
"Yes," I whispered back, "I wish I had said it. What an American way of
putting it! Emerson would have liked it himself. After all, he was our
prophet.
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