It is surely discreditable, under the age of thirty, not to be shy. Self-assurance in the young
betokens a lack of sensibility: the boy or girl who is not shy at twenty-two will at forty-two
become a bore. “I may be wrong, of course,”―thus will he or she gabble at forty
-two, “but what I always say is…” No, let us educate the younger generation to be shy in
and out of season: to edge behind the furniture: to say spasmodic and ill-digested things:
to twist their feet round the protective feet of sofas and armchairs. For shyness is the
protective fluid within which our personalities are able to develop into natural sharps.
