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"
"Not at all a bad theory," said Joe.
"There are more men of that sort with you in Europe than with us. You need
more amusement, and you will generally give more for it. You English, who
are uncommonly fond of doing nothing, give yourselves vast trouble in the
pursuit of pleasure. We Americans, who are ill when we are idle, are
content to surround ourselves with the paraphernalia of pleasure when
office hours are over; but we make very little use of our opportunities
for amusement, being tired out at the end of the day with other things
which we think more important. The result is that we have no such thing as
what you denominate 'Society,' because we lack the prime element of
aristocratic social intercourse, the ingrained determination to be idle."
"You are very hard on us," remarked Joe.
"Excuse me," returned John, "you are compensated by having what we have
not. Europeans are the most agreeable people in the world, wherever mutual
and daily conversation and intercourse are to be considered.


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