Y.M. We have an old servant. She has been with us twenty—two years. Her service used to be faultless, but now she has become very forgetful. We are all fond of her; we all recognize that she cannot help the infirmity which age has brought her; the rest of the family do not scold her for her remissnesses, but at times I do—I can’t seem to control myself. Don’t I try? I do try. Now, then, when I was ready to dress, this morning, no clean clothes had been put out. I lost my temper; I lose it easiest and quickest in the early morning. I rang; and immediately began to warn myself not to show temper, and to be careful and speak gently. I safe-guarded myself most carefully. I even chose the very word I would use: “You’ve forgotten the clean clothes, Jane.” When she appeared in the door I opened my mouth to say that phrase—and out of it, moved by an instant surge of passion which I was not expecting and hadn’t time to put under control, came the hot rebuke, “You’ve forgotten them again!” You say a man always does the thing which will best please his Interior Master. Whence came the impulse to make careful preparation to save the girl the humiliation of a rebuke? Did that come from the Master, who is always primarily concerned about _himself_? O.M. Unquestionably. There is no other source for any impulse. _Secondarily _you made preparation to save the girl, but _primarily _its object was to save yourself, by contenting the Master. Y.M. How do you mean? O.M. Has any member of the family ever implored you to watch your temper and not fly out at the girl? Y.M. Yes. My mother. O.M. You love her? Y.M. Oh, more than that! O.M. You would always do anything in your power to please her? Y.M. It is a delight to me to do anything to please her! O.M. Why? _You would do it for pay, solely _—for _profit_. What profit would you expect and certainly receive from the investment? Y.M. Personally? None. To please _her _is enough. O.M. It appears, then, that your object, primarily, _wasn’t _to save the girl a humiliation, but to _please your mother. _It also appears that to please your mother gives _you _a strong pleasure. Is not that the profit which you get out of the investment? Isn’t that the _real _profits and _first _profit? Y.M. Oh, well? Go on. O.M. In _all _transactions, the Interior Master looks to it that _you get the first profit. _Otherwise there is no transaction. Y.M. Well, then, if I was so anxious to get that profit and so intent upon it, why did I throw it away by losing my temper? O.M. In order to get _another _profit which suddenly superseded it in value. Y.M. Where was it? O.M. Ambushed behind your born temperament, and waiting for a chance. Your native warm temper suddenly jumped to the front, and _for the moment its influence _was more powerful than your mother’s, and abolished it. In that instance you were eager to flash out a hot rebuke and enjoy it. You did enjoy it, didn’t you? Y.M. For—for a quarter of a second. Yes—I did.