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Taylor, Bayard, 1825-1878

"Beauty and the Beast, and Tales of Home"


Life must not be a prison, where each one must come and go, work,
eat, and sleep, as the jailer commands. Labor must not be a
necessity, but a spontaneous joy. 'Tis true, but little labor
is required of us here: let us, therefore, have no set tasks, no
fixed rules, but each one work, rest, eat, sleep, talk or be
silent, as his own nature prompts.'
"Perkins, sitting on the steps, gave a suppressed chuckle, which I
think no one heard but myself. I was vexed with his levity, but,
nevertheless, gave him a warning nudge with my toe, in payment for
the surreptitious salt.
"`That's just the notion I had, when I first talked of our coming
here,' said Shelldrake. `Here we're alone and unhindered; and if
the plan shouldn't happen to work well (I don't see why it
shouldn't though), no harm will be done. I've had a deal of hard
work in my life, and I've been badgered and bullied so much by your
strait-laced professors, that I'm glad to get away from the world
for a spell, and talk and do rationally, without being laughed at.


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