..."
"And the negroes?" said my friend hesitatingly and thoughtfully.
"Well, the negroes are 'the black peas' which Americans detest. But
that is a matter of social custom; the law, however, does not
distinguish them from other citizens.... To love, not to love ... that
is elusive and capricious, but justice is obligatory, like an
axiom...."
Entering the dining-room, I felt somewhat uneasy.... It seemed to me
that all the Americans would turn and eye us, the representatives of a
nation which has not as yet learned the axioms of law, and which draws
childishly false conclusions from premises....
But I was mistaken. There was in the dining-room the usual rustling,
clatter of plates, forks and knives, tinkling of glasses, and
whispered conversation. "Our" American was sitting at the side of his
odd Dulcinea, and he again looked like a self-satisfied cox-comb. But,
it seemed to me that into the everyday mood of the vessel's
table-d'hote, there entered something elusive and significant, which
could change the appearance of this motley crowd just as our
American's face had changed at the end of our conversation.
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