Quotation

“No depth. Everything on the surface.” “Like a thin skin of ice on a pond in winter,” he said.” Or the scum that forms on the top of a mug of hot chocolate,” she said. === “Portugal and colonies.” “Angra and Angola,” Schaffner intoned.” Kionga. Madeira, Funchal. Horta, Lourenço Marques. Tete and Timor. Macao and Quelimane.” === Whenever he found a stamp that was missing from his collection he noted the centering, examined the gum on the reverse, held it to the light to check for thins. He deliberated as intensely over a thirty-five-cent stamp as over one priced at thirty-five dollars. Should he buy this used specimen or wait for a more costly mint one? Should he buy this complete set, even though he already had the two low values? He didn’t have this stamp, but it was a minor variety, and his album didn’t have a place for it. Should he buy it anyway?