Well, I can't blame him--but I do think
these writers and people are inclined to draw their line a little too
sharply with their Philistines--great big gulf, please--and Artists. At any
rate, here goes for my psychology and good luck to it. Peter, in fact, is
so interesting a subject if one sees anything of him at all that I believe
he'd draw speculation out of any one. There was old Maradick talking about
him the other night--fascinated by him and understanding him most amazingly
well--another instance of your Philistine and Artist mixed.
"But I knew him--and knew him jolly well too--when he was about twelve, so
that I really get a pull over the rest of you there, for it adds of course
immensely to the interest and if ever child was Father of the Man, Peter
was. You know how we both funked that marriage of his for him--you because
you knew Clare so well, I because I knew Peter. And then for a time it
really seemed that we were both entirely wrong. Clare's is a far simpler
personality than Peter's, and if you work along one or two recognised
lines--let her have her way, don't frighten her, above all keep her
conventional--it's all right. Clare was, and is, awfully in love with him,
and he madly with her of course--and that helped everything along. You know
how relieved we both were and indeed it seemed, for a time, that it was
going to be the making of both of them--going to make Clare braver and
Peter less morbid.
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