"You soon get used to the noises," said Rose with a downward nod of his head. "I scarcely hear 'em now.--Lemonade? It's bottled, but not bad; tastes of lemons anyway. There's a siphon behind you there."
He put me into one of the basket chairs and himself took the other. Then, without the least warning, but still with that marked effort at steadiness and care, he said:
"Well, what price the world-political state, George? Not home-politics, but the whole thing--democracy--civilisation if you like----"
If he had asked me what I thought of the theory of relativity I should have been readier with an answer. As it was I looked askance at him and asked him what made him so suddenly ask me that.
"Oh, same old reason," he replied. "I expect it's a subject I shall have to tackle. In a book. I wonder if it's too big! It pulls me enormously. I don't know whether we're in for a general smash-up or not. Sometimes I've the feeling we are."
Something within me, I don't know what, warned me that here it might be well to be as careful as he. The safest thing to do appeared to be to let him run on, and I did so.
"Yes," he continued, his fine smooth brow gathered in thought, "I know it's enormous; perhaps too staggering altogether for one man. But do you know," he laughed a little as if at himself, "I wonder whether it _is_ so enormous after all! There might be quite a simple idea underlying it, I mean. What's more enormous than human nature? Yet every wretched little novelist tackles that every time he writes a book. It all depends on how much you see in a thing. I'm not so sure that I wouldn't as soon tackle one day of the whole world's life as one single hour of a human being's heart."
I spoke warily. "You haven't tackled it yet?"
He hesitated. "N--o," he said slowly. Then, quickening a little, "The fact is, George, a job like that would have to be rather specially approached. I mean unless you were at the very top of your form you'd be bound to come a cropper. No good starting a thing till you know your tools are sharp--in this case your faculties. I'm--I'm sharpening myself now, if you know what I mean."
At this point I became incautious. I ceased to listen to the voice that warned me too to be careful.