Ben Hecht

“ It is this faculty of regarding herself as an object of art which makes a pretty woman an involved and enigmatic companion. Her perfume bottle, her underwear, her hair comb, her silken stockings, her rouge box, powder puff and pointed shoes—these contribute toward a ritual as creative and abstract as obsesses the artist employed before a canvas. ”

“ At half past six, she explained on the telephone. It is interesting how the telephone improves her voice. But then when she spoke to me she was in the midst of her effulgent toilet. How can a lover hope to rival the gentle Saturnalia through which a pretty woman passes before she arrives at the rendezvous? ”

“ Shall we eat? The dining room is crowded and perhaps you would prefer Of course not. It will be charming to look at you against the futile background of others. And after we are through eating we will go for a walk. ”

“ The theory applies chiefly to virgins, however. To the others, the inferior destinations of their bodies serve to corrupt the serene passion which sex achieves when, still unconscious of itself, it undulates in a social and ornamental parade. ”