though it may be, and we have a certain amount of reading to do every
day, which we despatch as conscientiously as we do our prayers
But _our_ life is never made up of talking and dreaming, delightful
though it may be, and we have a certain amount of reading to do every
day, which we despatch as conscientiously as we do our prayers. There
is no rule, however, limiting the reading to any one person, and Arthur
often relieves us of that duty. I enjoy his reading very much,
especially when one of Plato”s ‘Dialogues’ is the lesson of the day,
for into them he throws so much enthusiasm and dramatic force, that
they are quite a revelation to me. I was amused this morning, upon
turning over the leaves of my journal of last winter, to find my first
impressions of the ‘Dialogues’ thus laconically expressed:

• I feel singularly indolent, and indisposed to journalize this evening
• Not only are the Arabs particular in their pomade, but great attention
• I made my way to a street of shops: it had a busy appearance, more so than
• Near Renton, on the banks of the Leven, I saw a little neighborhood,