"`Well put,' said he, `though I do not say that you are entirely
correct. Now, what are my merits?'
"`You are clear-sighted,' I answered, `an earnest seeker after
truth, and courageous in the avowal of your thoughts.'
"This restored the balance, and we soon began to confess our own
private faults and weaknesses. Though the confessions did not go
very deep,--no one betraying anything we did not all know
already,--yet they were sufficient to strength Hollins in his new
idea, and it was unanimously resolved that Candor should
thenceforth be the main charm of our Arcadian life. It was the
very thing _I_ wanted, in order to make a certain communication to
Eunice; but I should probably never have reached the point,
had not the same candor been exercised towards me, from a quarter
where I least expected it.
"The next day, Abel, who had resumed his researches after the True
Food, came home to supper with a healthier color than I had before
seen on his face.
"`Do you know,' said he, looking shyly at Hollins, `that I begin to
think Beer must be a natural beverage? There was an auction in the
village to-day, as I passed through, and I stopped at a cake-stand
to get a glass of water, as it was very hot.
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