But then a new burst of rage swept over him What did
it matter Whether it was true or not—whether
anything was true or not? What did it matter
if anybody had done all the hideous and loathsome
things that everybody else said they had done?
It was what everybody was saying! It was what
everybody believed—what everybody was interested
in! It was the measure of a whole society—their
ideals and their standards! It was the way they
spent their time, repeating nasty scandals about each
other; living in an atmosphere of suspicion and cynicism,
with endless whispering and leering, and gossip of
lew intrigue.
A flood of rage surged up within him, and swept him,
away—rage against the world into which
he had come, and against himself for the part he had
played in it. Everything seemed to have come to
a head at once; and he hated everything—hated
the people he had met, and the things they did, and
the things they had tempted him to do. He hated
the way he had got his money, and the way he had spent
it. He hated the idleness and wastefulness, the
drunkenness and debauchery, the meanness and the snobbishneps.
And suddenly he turned and flung open the door of
the room where Oliver still sat. And he stood
in the doorway, exclaiming, “Oliver, I’m
done with it!”
Oliver stared at him. “What do you mean?”
he asked.
“I mean,” cried his brother, “that
I’ve had all I can stand of ‘Society!’
And I’m going to quit. You can go on—but
I don’t intend to take another step with you!
I’ve had enough—and I think Alice
has had enough, also. We’ll take ourselves
off your hands—we’ll get out!”
“What are you going to do?” gasped Oliver.
“I’m going to give up these expensive
apartments—give them up to-morrow, when
our week is up. And I’m going to stop squandering
money for things I don’t want. I’m
going to stop accepting invitations, and meeting people
I don’t like and don’t want to know.
I’ve tried your game—I’ve tried
it hard, and I don’t like it; and I’m
going to get out before it’s too late. I’m
going to find some decent and simple place to live
in; and I’m going down town to find out if there
isn’t some way in New York for a man to earn
an honest living!”
