Page:The Shield (Knopf, 1917).djvu/73

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VLADIMIR KOROLENKO
47

corner. Mr. Jackson rose and buttoning his coat, he said :

"It does not follow. You have made a bad syllogism : the conclusion does not follow from the premises."

"But, sir. . . ."

"It is true that I dislike those people, but it doesn't follow that I want their rights restricted. . . ."

And after a moment of deliberation, as though seeking for the clearest form of explanation, he went on.

"Here we are being called for dinner . . . I must tell you, sir, that I cannot tolerate green peas. That is my personal taste. But it does not follow by any means, gentlemen, that I have the right to demand that green peas should not be served. . . . Probably, others like the dish. . . ."

And rising to his full height, he added:

"As for the rest of your words . . . as an American, I would feel insulted, if there were in my country citizens deprived of equal rights. . . . That a Kentuckian, for instance, should not have the right to breathe freely the