It was this class which, at inaugurations of public edifices, invented the
terrible toast-formula, "The architect _and contractor_." And if epics
were inaugurated by banquet, this class would certainly propose the health
of the poet and printer, after the King and the publishers. Only sheer
ennui sometimes drives it to seek distraction in the artist's work. It
prefers the novelist among artists because the novel gives the longest
surcease from ennui at the least expenditure of money and effort.
* * * * *
It is inevitable that I shall be accused of exaggeration, cynicism, or
prejudice: probably all three. Whenever one tells the truth in this island
of compromise, one is sure to be charged on these counts, and to be found
guilty. But I too am of the sporting race, and forty years have taught me
that telling the truth is the most dangerous and most glorious of all
forms of sport. Alpine climbing in winter is nothing to it. I like it. I
will only add that I have been speaking of the solid _bloc_ of the caste;
I admit the existence of a broad fringe of exceptions. And I truly
sympathize with the _bloc_. I do not blame the _bloc_. I know that the
members of the _bloc_ are, like me, the result of evolutionary forces now
spent.
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