I remember nothing you
have said that needs withdrawal. You have never made a malicious
remark in your life, Kate. Don't make me defend you against yourself.
You have determined, I take it, to plunge into the subjects which
interest the man you are going to marry. That is a perfectly laudable
ambition, and I am quite sure you will succeed."
"I know I don't deserve all that, Dorothy, but I like it just the
same. I like people to believe in me, even if I sometimes lose faith
in myself. May I read you an extract from his letter?"
"Don't if you'd rather not."
"I'd rather, Dorothy, if it doesn't weary you, but you will understand
when you have heard it, in what a new light I regard myself."
The letter proved to be within the leaves of the late Mr. Steele's
book on Chemistry, and from this volume she extracted it, pressed it
for a moment against her breast with her open hand, gazing across at
her friend.
"Dorothy, my first love-letter!"
She turned the crisp, thin pages, and began:
"'You may recollect that foot-note which you marked with red ink in
the book you so kindly gave me on the subject of Catalysis, which did
not pertain to the subject of the volume in question, and yet was so
illuminative to any student of chemistry. They have done a great deal
with Catalysis in Germany with amazing commercial results, but the
subject is one so recent that I had not previously gone thoroughly
into it.
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