So my answer was framed partly in Yiddish, but mostly in
English, the English being tacitly intended for his daughter,
although he understood the language perfectly. I said, in
substance, that I was going to be as frank as he was, that I did not
propose to invest more money in real estate, and that I asked to be
allowed to call on his daughter. The following passage was
entirely in English: "I have made a misleading impression on Miss
Tevkin. I have done myself a great injustice and I beg for a chance
to repair the damage. In business I am said to know how to show
my goods to their best advantage. Unfortunately, this instinct
seems often to desert me in private life. There I am apt to put my
least attractive wares in the show-window, to expose some
unlovable trait of my character, while whatever good there may be
in me eludes the eye of a superficial acquaintance.
"Please assure your daughter that it is not to force my attentions
upon her that I am asking for an interview. All I want is to try to
convince her that her image of me is, spiritually speaking, not a
good likeness.
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