You catch my point, don't you? It is a very instructive thing to
reflect on the curious ambiguity of words. But I am sure you can tell
me more about that than I can possibly tell you. With your legal
experience you must have come across scores of instances of the
extraordinarily deceptive nature of words."
"You thought apparently that I should be likely to object to the
marriage, and therefore you tried to keep me out of Ballymoy, using
means which might be described as unscrupulous."
"I've already apologised for the paraffin oil," said Meldon. "A full
and ample apology, such as I have offered, is generally considered to
close an incident of that kind. In the old duelling days, when men
used to go out at early dawn to shoot at each other with pistols, the
one who had shied the wine glass at the other the night before often
used to apologise; and when he did the pistols were put up into their
case, and both parties went back comfortably to breakfast. I've often
wondered that men of your profession--judges, I mean--didn't do
something effective to put a stop to duelling. It was always against
the law, and yet we had to wait for the slow growth of public opinion--"
"Then," said the judge, "you changed your mind, and came to the
conclusion that my presence here wasn't likely to interfere with your
friend's plans.
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