At Middle Temple Hall, where law students often dine, duck into Fountain Court with its monkish atmosphere.

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Lining the stairway in the middle of City Hall, Greenville, is a row of photographs of every mayor the town ever had.

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They slid off their slippers at the door, and, their stiff bodies swaying momentarily beneath the weight, placed the speakers, each taller than Father, in the middle of the hall.

NEWYORKER: Naima