332
PARTISAN REVIEW
Duperrier had chosen the sin of pride which, while allowing
him
to vaunt his own merits, also permitted him to praise the
Creator who had deigned to notice
him.
His wife was quick to under–
stand that he was sinning deliberately and at once joined in the game.
"You old dear," she said, "you make me very proud. My
cousin Leopold can have
his
automobile and
his
house in the country,
he still can't come within a mile of you!"
"That's how I feel about it. I could have made money as
well as the next fellow, better than Leopold, if I had set my mind to
it. But my kind of success is of a different
ilk
than your cousin's. His
money! Why, I have nothing but contempt for it, and that goes for
the whole lot of ignoramuses as well, not one of whom is capable of
grasping the real grandeur of my modest way of life. For they have
eyes and see not."
These words came readily to
his
lips and were spoken feel–
ingly and from the heart. But in a few days they had become a mere
exercise, a habit which demanded no thought. For such is the power
of words over mind that Duperrier began to accept his own as gospel
truth. His pride now had nothing in the least feigned about it, and
he became insufferable to all who came near him. In the meantime
his wife kept an anxious eye on the halo and saw that its light was
not diminishing.
It
may be, she observed thoughtfully, that my hus–
band's sin lacks weight and consistency, an opinion in which, more–
over, Duperrier acquiesced without difficulty:
"What you say is only too true," he said. "I thought I was
guilty of pride and all I did was to utter the plainest, most obvious
matter of fact. When a man reaches the acme of perfection like my–
self, the word pride no longer has any meaning."
Though he bragged as much as ever about
his
good qualities,
Duperrier did admit the necessity of trying his hand at another
sin. In the whole gamut of mortal sins gluttony, it seemed to him,
would best serve his purpose, namely to get rid of the halo without
discrediting himself too much in Heaven. Besides, gluttony further
recommended itself by calling up childhood memories of mild pun–
ishments for excessive indulgence in jam and chocolate. Full of hope,
his wife set herself to preparing dainty dishes for him, as savory as
they were varied. Henceforth nothing came to the table of the Duper–
fiers save roast fowl, meat pies, trout in wine sauce, lobsters, candies
