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137
The Solitary Summer
·
Elizabeth Von Arnim
134
I
sat
by
the
window
in
my
room
till
late,
looking
out
at
the
moonlight
in
the
quiet
garden,
with
a
feeling
as
though
I
were
stuffed
with
sawdust--a
very
awful
feeling--and
thinking
ruefully
of
the
day
that
had
begun
so
brightly
and
ended
so
dismally.
What
a
miserable
thing
not
to
be
able
to
be
frank
and
say
simply,
"My
good
young
man,
you
and
I
never
saw
each
other
before,
probably
won't
see
each
other
again,
and
have
no
interests
in
common.
I
mean
you
to
be
comfortable
in
my
house,
but
I
want
to
be
comfortable
too.
Let
us,
therefore,
keep
out
of
each
other's
way
while
you
are
obliged
to
be
here.
Do
as
you
like,
go
where
you
like,
and
order
what
you
like,
but
don't
expect
me
to
waste
my
time
sitting
by
your
side
and
making
small-talk.
I
too
have
to
get
to
heaven,
and
have
no
time
to
lose.
You
won't
see
me
again.
Good-bye."
I
believe
many
a
harassed
Hausfrau
would
give
much
to
be
able
to
make
some
such
speech
when
these
young
men
appear,
and
surely
the
young
men
themselves
would
be
grateful;
but
simplicity
is
apparently
quite
beyond
people's
strength.
It
is,
of
all
the
virtues,
the
one
I
prize
the
most;
it
is
undoubtedly
the
most
lovable
of
any,
and
unspeakably
precious
for
its
power
of
removing
those
mountains
that
confine
our
lives
and
prevent
our
seeing
the
sky.
Certain
it
is
that
until
we
have
it,
the
simple
spirit
of
the
little
child,
we
shall
in
no
wise
discover
our
kingdom
of
heaven.
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