LATER PERIOD OF LIFE: CONCLUSION
swered that I wished to have the honor of calling upon him and asking him, on behalf of the Royal Library, for his latest works, so that we might have a complete set, especially as we had the former parts he had left with Wilde, the royal secretary. 'Most willingly,' he answered; 'besides, I had intended to send them there, as my purpose in publishing them has been to make them known and to place them in the hands of intelligent people.' I thanked him for his kindness, whereupon he showed them to me and took a walk with me in the garden.
"Although he is an old man and gray hair protruded in every direction from under his wig, he walked briskly, was fond of talking, and spoke with a certain cheerfulness. His countenance was indeed thin and meagre, but cheerful and smiling. By and by he began of his own accord to speak of his views; and as it had been in reality my second purpose to hear them with my own ears, I listened to him with eager attention, not challenging any of his statements, but simply asking him questions, as if for my own enlightenment."
The substance of his statements, and of what
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