"Oh of course--how ridiculous of me!" cried Mrs. Wilkins, flushing scarlet. "It's because"--she floundered--"it's because the immortals somehow still seem alive, don't they--as if they were here, going to walk into the room in another minute--and one forgets they are dead. In fact one knows perfectly well that they're not dead--not nearly so dead as you and I even now," she assured"