which Zenobia sought to impose on me.  I reasoned against her, in my secret mind, and strove so to keep my footing.  In the gorgeousness with which she had surrounded herself,—­in the redundance of personal ornament, which the largeness of her physical nature and the rich type of her beauty caused to seem so suitable,—­I malevolently beheld the true character of the woman, passionate, luxurious, lacking simplicity, not deeply refined, incapable of pure and perfect taste.  But, the next instant, she was too powerful for all my opposing struggles.  I saw how fit it was that she should make herself as gorgeous as she pleased, and should do a thousand things that would have been ridiculous in the poor, thin, weakly characters of other women.  To this day, however, I hardly know whether I then beheld Zenobia in her truest attitude, or whether that were the truer one in which she had presented herself at Blithedale.  In both, there was something like the illusion which a great actress flings around her.

“Have you given up Blithedale forever?” I inquired.

“Why should you think so?” asked she.

“I cannot tell,” answered I; “except that it appears all like a dream that we were ever there together.”

“It is not so to me,” said Zenobia.  “I should think it a poor and meagre nature that is capable of but one set of forms, and must convert all the past into a dream merely because the present happens to be unlike it.  Why should we be content with our homely life of a few months past, to the exclusion of all other modes?  It was good; but there are other lives as good, or better.  Not, you will understand, that I condemn those who give themselves up to it more entirely than I, for myself, should deem it wise to do.”

It irritated me, this self-complacent, condescending, qualified approval and criticism of a system to which many individuals—­perhaps as highly endowed as our gorgeous Zenobia—­had contributed their all of earthly endeavor, and their loftiest aspirations.  I determined to make proof if there were any spell that would exorcise her out of the part which she seemed to be acting.  She should be compelled to give me a glimpse of something true; some nature, some passion, no matter whether right or wrong, provided it were real.

“Your allusion to that class of circumscribed characters who can live only in one mode of life,” remarked I coolly, “reminds me of our poor friend Hollingsworth.  Possibly he was in your thoughts when you spoke thus.  Poor fellow!  It is a pity that, by the fault of a narrow education, he should have so completely immolated himself to that one idea of his, especially as the slightest modicum of common-sense would teach him its utter impracticability.  Now that I have returned into the world, and can look at his project from a distance, it requires quite all my real regard for this respectable and well-intentioned man to prevent me laughing at him,—­as I find society at large does.”