Golden AgeThese elders, our betters by a trick of chance, commanded no respect, but only a certain blend of envyof their good luckand pityfor their inability to make use of it. Indeed, it was one of the most hopeless features in their character (when we troubled ourselves to waste a thought on them: which wasn't often) that, having absolute licence to indulge in the pleasures of life, they could get no good of it. They might dabble in the pond all day, hunt the