"I wouldn't go as far as that. Matters are rarely sufficiently simple to be disposed of in a single word. But just think what a fate it is to go about the world in the belief that you carry with you as deep a knowledge of it as Shakespeare had, and to feel at the same time that you aren't able to express as much of it as, for instance, Herr Gleissner, although perhaps one is quite as much good as he is--or even more." They walked on together for a time in silence. The trees in the Ring were standing motionless with their white branches. It struck three from the tower of the Rathaus. They walked over the empty streets and took the way through the silent park. All around them the continuous fall of snow made everything shine almost brightly. "By the way, I have not told you the latest news," started Heinrich suddenly, looking in front of him and speaking in a dry tone. "What is it?" "That I have been receiving anonymous letters for some time." "Anonymous letters? What are the contents?" "Oh, you can guess." "I see." It was clear to George that it could only be something about the actress. Heinrich had returned in greater anguish than ever from the foreign town, where he had seen his mistress act the part of a depraved creature in a new play, with a truth and realism which he found positively intolerable. George knew that he and she had since then been exchanging letters full of tenderness and scorn, full of anger and forgiveness, full of broken anguish and laboured confidence. "The delightful messages," explained Heinrich, "have been coming along every morning for eight days. Not very pleasant, I can assure you." "Good gracious, what do they matter to you? You know yourself anonymous letters never contain the truth." "On the contrary, my dear George, they always do, but letters like that always contain a kind of higher truth, the great truth of possibilities. Men haven't usually got sufficient imagination to create things out of nothing." "That is a charming way of looking at things. Where should we all get to, then? It makes things a bit too easy for libellers of all kinds." "Why do you say libellers? I regard it as highly improbable that there are any libels contained in the anonymous letters which I have been receiving. No doubt exaggerations, embellishments, inaccuracies...." "Lies." "No, I am sure they are not lies; some, no doubt, but in a case like this how is one to separate the truth from the lies?" "There is a very simple way of dealing with that. You go there." "Me go there?" "Yes, of course that is what you ought to do. When you are on the spot you are bound to get at once to the real truth." "It would certainly be possible." They were walking under arcades on the wet stone. Their voices and steps echoed. George began again. "Instead of going on being demoralised with all this annoyance, I should try and convince myself personally as to how matters stood." "Yes, that would certainly be the soundest thing to do."