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10 OTHMAR. cumstances conspire to free it from those more oppressive and irritating forms of contact which the prose of life entails.' 'You mean marriage, only you put it with a great deal of unnecessary euphuism. Tastes differ. Giovanni Dupré's ideal of bliss was to see his wife ironing linen, while his mother-in- law looked on.' 'Dupré was a simple soul, and a true artist, but intellect was not his strong point. If he had chanced to be educated, the good creature with her irons would have become very tiresome to him.' 'What an argument in favour of ignorance!' 'Is it? The savage is content with roots and an earth-baked bird; but it does not follow, therefore, that delicate food does not merit the preference we give to it. I grant, however, that a high culture of taste and intelligence does not result in the adoration of the primitive virtues any more than of the earth- baked bird.' 'Is this a discussion on Love?' 'It is a discussion which grows out of it, like the mistletoe out of the oak. The ideal of Dupré