is this your whether he the wide stretches of the ocean or remains at home near the sea has a seeming or of soul that no rush of ordinary life can disturb i have noted it of every port of the sea that the eager intensity of men so often away at the water s edge boats are not loaded with the hard that marks the of trains a sense of the idle devil may care indifference of water seems to play about the affairs of these people of those who have to do with them � the indifference of the sea perhaps the suggestion of the heartless deep that is in every channel and dock basin is the element that is at the base of their motions your sailor and man will not hurry his eyes are wide with a strange suspicion of the deep he knows by contact what the and the fury of the waters are the word of the sea is to be indifferent never you mind as it was in the beginning so it ever shall be i think the peace and sweetness of bear some relationship to this wonderful spirit of the endless deep as i walked along these and and through these � seemingly worlds in which water and trees and red brick houses swam in a soft light exactly the light and atmosphere you find in dutch art � i felt as though i had come out of a hard modem existence such as one finds in germany and back into something kindly rural intellectual philosophic was i believe holland s contribution to philosophy � and a worthy dutch philosopher he was � and its great scholar both and have indicated in their lives the spirit of their country i think if you could look into the spirits and homes of thousands of simple you would find that same kindly which you admire in their paintings it is so placid it was so here in one gathered it from the very air i had a feeling of peaceful meditative delight in life and the of living all the time i was in holland which i take to be significant all the while i was there i was wishing that i might remain throughout the spring and summer and dream � in germany i was haunted by the necessity of effort it was while i was in this first morning a at forty that the that my travels were fast drawing to a close dawned upon me i had been having such a good time i that fresh interested feeling of something new to look forward to with each morning was still enduring but now i saw that my splendid world of adventure was all but ended has proved as i recalled now with some satisfaction that life can be lived with great intellectual and spiritual distinction in a way and in small compass but oh the wonder of the world s � the going to and fro amid the things of eminence and memory seeing how thus far this house of ours has been furnished by man and by nature all those wonderful lands and objects that i had looked forward to with such keen interest a few months before were now in their way things of the past england france italy germany london paris rome st peter s � i could not look on those any more with fresh and wondering eyes how brief life is i thought how in its mood it gives us a brief some of us once and then takes the cup away it seemed to me as i sat here looking out on the fresh and sweet of holland that i could idle thus forever down foolish impressions exclaiming over fleeting phases of beauty wiping my eyes at the and that are so precious and so sad holland was before me and and one more of paris and a few days in england perhaps and then i should go back to new york to write i could see it � new york with its high buildings its cars its rough oh why might i not idle abroad � � � � � � � the second morning of my arrival i received a message from a sister of madame a madame j the wife of an eminent dutch who had some thing to do with the peace court would i come to lunch this day her husband would be a little late but i would not mind her sister had written her she would be so glad to see me i promptly accepted the house was near the museum with a charming view of water from the windows i can see it now � this very pleasant holland interior the rooms into which i was introduced were gray in tone the contents spare and in good taste flowers in abundance much brass and old copper madame j was herself a study in steel blue and silver gray a reserved yet woman a better than madame a she spoke english perfectly she had read my book the latest one and had liked it she told me then she folded her hands in her lap leaned forward and looked at me i have been so curious to see what you looked like well i replied take a long look i am not as wild as early would indicate i hope you must n t start with prejudices she smiled it is n t that there are so many things in your book which make me curious it is such a strange book � self revealing i imagine i would n t be too sure she merely continued to look at me and smile in a placid way but her inspection was so sympathetic and in a way that it was rather flattering than otherwise i in turn studied her here was a woman that i had been told 