"We may be fooled, Harriet," I observed, "on dogmas and doctrines and
platforms--but if we cannot trust human nature in the long run, what
hope is there? It's men we must work with, Harriet."
"And women." said Harriet.
"And women, of course," said I.
XIII
ON FRIENDSHIP
I come now to the last of these Adventures in Friendship. As I go out--I
hope not for long--I wish you might follow me to the door, and then as
we continue to talk quietly, I may beguile you, all unconsciously, to
the top of the steps, or even find you at my side when we reach the gate
at the end of the lane. I wish you might hate to let me go, as I myself
hate to go!--And when I reach the top of the hill (if you wait long
enough) you will see me turn and wave my hand; and you will know that I
am still relishing the joy of our meeting, and that I part unwillingly.
Not long ago, a friend of mine wrote a letter asking me an absurdly
difficult question--difficult because so direct and simple.
"What is friendship, anyway?" queried this philosophical correspondent.
The truth is, the question came to me with a shock, as something quite
new. For I have spent so much time thinking of my friends that I have
scarcely ever stopped to reflect upon the abstract quality of
friendship.
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