"You never had any doubt as to how the war would end?" "Never." "Why?" "Because I believe in the gallantry of France, and the tenacity of England, and the--youth of America." "And what of Germany?" "The vulgarity." This was quite a new reason for Germany's certain downfall--! It delighted me--. "But vulgarity does not mean weakness!" "Yes it does--Vulgar people have imperfect sensibilities, and cannot judge of the psychology of others, they appraise everything by their own standard--and so cannot calculate correctly possible contingencies--that shows weakness." "How wise you are--and how you think!" She was silent. "All the fighting nations will be filled with vulgarians even when we do win, though with most of the decent people killed--" I ventured to say--. "Oh! no--Lots of their souls are not vulgar, only their environment has caused their outward self-expression to seem so. Once you get below the pompous _bourgeoisie_ in France, for instance, the more delightful you find the spirit, and I expect it is the same in England. It is the pretentious aspiring would-bes who are vulgar--and Germany seems filled with them," "You know it well?" "Yes, pretty well." "If it is not a frightfully impertinent question--how old are you really, Miss Sharp--?" I felt that she could not be only twenty-three after this conversation. She smiled--the second smile I have seen--. "On the twentieth of October I shall be twenty-four." "Where on earth did you learn all your philosophy of life in the time!" "It is life which teaches us everything--if we are not half asleep--especially if it is difficult--." "And the stupid people are like me--not liking to learn any lessons and kicking against the pricks--.", "Yes--." "I would try to learn anything you would teach me though, Miss Sharp." "Why?" "Because I have confidence in you"--I did not add--because I loved her voice and respected her character and----. "Thank you"--she said. "Will you teach me?" "What?" "How not to be a rotter--." "A man knows that himself--." "How to learn serenity then?" "That would be difficult." "Am I so impossible?" "I cannot say--but." "But--what?" "One would have to begin from the beginning--." "Well?" "And I have not time--." I looked at her as she said this--there was in the tone a faint echo of regret, so I wanted to see the expression of her mouth--It told me nothing. I could not get anything further out of her, because the waiters came in and out after this rather frequently, changing the courses--and so I did not have any success.