He was no hulk of which wreckers might take possession. If
he no longer desired to remain on the high seas, at least he could freely
choose the harbour where he preferred to cast anchor.
He mentally reviewed the images of the women who had recently made an
impression upon him, or on whom he was sure that he had produced an
impression, and asked himself with which of them he could probably spend
a life of constant intercourse. Always is a long time, and he knew that
a woman must possess remarkable qualities not to repel him in the long
run. He had a peculiar method of testing whether a woman was suited to
be his companion for life, and whether he could endure to have her
continually with him. He imagined that he was taking a wedding journey
with a wife through Italy, was alone with her six weeks, without any
other society, with no stimulus except her presence, and he pictured
these days in every detail. Several apparently thoroughly charming women
were in this way instantly rejected. One was beautiful and desirable,
but stupid as a pike, and he could not help laughing when, in fancy, he
saw himself standing with her before the works of art in Florence and
heard her remarks about paintings and statues.
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