"I'm not bothered either," Gladstone said with a self-deprecating smile, "In fact, I've been quite a failure this year. I lost the party primary to a Jewish man, and at that time I felt rather unconvinced, but now it seems he had his reasons for defeating me. Perhaps his manner of expression is a bit ostentatious, but at least he was much more practical than I in selecting his campaign's policies."
Catherine, seeing him so dejected, spoke up to comfort him, "William, don't talk like that. Do you remember our childhood? You used to tell me: 'One must always look up to something.' Being realistic is good, yet I always felt that it's synonymous with mediocrity."
Gladstone chuckled, "Catherine, that wasn't my saying, it was Kant's. And he didn't just say that, he also said: 'Out of the crooked timber of humanity, no straight thing was ever made.'"
Catherine nodded, "I know it was Kant who said it, but you were the first to say it to me, and that's enough."
"Catherine..."
