experience and age give way before the triumphant advance of confident youth? In short, how far should I give in to Adelina? If she hadn't been superior, of course, the matter would be simplified. But she was superior (in certain respects) and she knew it. What she didn't know, and what complicated the situation (it generally is what people don't know that complicates the situation) was that there is such a thing as reflex action; that her advance necessitated my retreat, her strengthening in a realm that didn't belong to her, my relative weakening. It's a very complex world. We fumble through it as best we can, fumbling away most of our happiness in the process. That's why age is wont to grow reluctant and timorous. It fears to tread down what it cannot revive.
I watched the reins of my household gradually being transferred to Adelina's tightening grasp, with growing dismay. It was all so imperceptibly done (on her part), that there was no outstanding point to take hold of. I recalled the remark of a gentle old lady I knew who in her infrequent observations generally hit the nail square on the head, "What I say is, where will it lead to?"
