"It 's no use," he said, "I give it up!" "What is it ?" "I have struck a shallow! I have been sailing bravely, but for the last day or two my keel has been crunching the bottom." "A difficult place ?" Rowland asked, with a sympathetic inflection, looking vaguely at the roughly modeled figure.
"Oh, it 's not the poor clay!" Roderick answered.

"The difficult place is here!" And he struck a blow on his heart.

"I don't know what 's the matter with me.

Nothing comes; all of a sudden I hate things.

My old things look ugly; everything looks stupid." Rowland was perplexed.