At first he scouted the idea, but as time went on
it seemed to him that Reardon's countenance certainly had a gaunt
wildness which suggested disagreeable things. Especially did he
remark this after his return from an August holiday in Norway. On
coming for the first time to the City Road branch he sat down and
began to favour Reardon with a lively description of how he had
enjoyed himself abroad; it never occurred to him that such talk
was not likely to inspirit the man who had passed his August
between the garret and the hospital, but he observed before long
that his listener was glancing hither and thither in rather a
strange way.
'You haven't been ill since I saw you?' he inquired.
'Oh no!'
'But you look as if you might have been. I say, we must manage
for you to have a fortnight off, you know, this month.'
'I have no wish for it,' said Reardon. 'I'll imagine I have been
to Norway. It has done me good to hear of your holiday.'
'I'm glad of that; but it isn't quite the same thing, you know,
as having a run somewhere yourself.'
'Oh, much better! To enjoy myself may be mere selfishness, but to
enjoy another's enjoyment is the purest satisfaction, good for
body and soul.
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