John had none of these. One could be certain of exactly what he would do on any given occasion--and it would always be his duty. The Russian was observing this charming English bride critically; she was such a perfect specimen of that estimable race--well-shaped, refined and healthy. Chock full of temperament too, he reflected--when she should discover herself. Temperament and romance and even passion, and there were shrewdness and commonsense as well. "An agreeable task for a man to undertake her education," and he wished that he had time. Amaryllis Ardayre asked again: "How can one not think? I am always thinking." He smiled indulgently. "Oh! no, you are not--you only imagine that you are. You have questioned nothing--you do right generally because you have a nice character and have been well brought up, not from any conscious determination to uplift the soul. Yes--is it not so?" She was startled. "Perhaps." "Do you ever ask yourself what things mean? What we are--where we are going? What is the end of it all? No--you are happy; you live from day to day--and yet you cannot be a very young ego, your eyes are too wise--you have had many incarnations. It is merely that in this one life the note of awakening has not yet been struck. You certainly must have needed sleep." "Many lives? You believe in that theory?" She was not accustomed to discuss unorthodox subjects. She was interested. "But of course--how else could there be justice? We draw the reflex of every evil action and of every good one, but sometimes not until the next incarnation, that is why the heedless ones cannot grasp the truth--they see no visible result of either good or evil--evil, in fact, seems generally to win if there is a balance either way." "Why are we not allowed memory then, so that we might profit by our lessons?" "We should in that case improve from self-interest and not have our faults eliminated by suffering. We are given no conscious memory of our last life, so we go on fighting for whatever desire still holds us until its achievement brings such overwhelming pain that the desire is no more." "Why do you say that for happiness we must banish thought--that seems a paradox." She was a little disturbed. "I said if one _consciously_ and deliberately desired happiness, one must banish thought to bring oneself back to the condition of hundreds of people who are happy; many of them are even elementals without souls at all. They are permitted happiness so that they may become so attached to the earth plane that they willingly return and gradually obtain a soul. But no one who is allowed to think is allowed any continued happiness; there would be no progress. If so, we should remain as brutes." "Then how cruel of you to suggest to me to think. I want to be happy--perhaps I do not want to obtain a soul." "That was born long ago--my words may have awakened it once more, but the sleep was not deep."