n "Virtue" by W. Somerset Maugham, the narrator reflects on his lifelong habit of enjoying a good cigar, recounting how this resolution from his youth has been the only one he's kept. He ponders the labor and effort involved in producing such a simple pleasure and extends this thought to the consumption of oysters and lamb cutlets, contemplating the intricate history and evolution of life forms ending on his plate. The narrator then recounts a chance meeting with Morton, a young district officer from Borneo, in London. Morton, who had been hospitable and energetic in his post, now seems ....