ion rang in her voice, "it
seems such a dignified, pleasant ideal to live up to!" she said.

"Well, it looks as if we had seen the last of that particular type of
woman," her husband said cheerfully. "Or at least it looks as if that
woman would find her own level, deliberately separate herself from her
more ambitious sisters, who want to develop higher arts than that of
mere housekeeping."

"And how do YOU happen to know so much about it, Kane?"

"I? Oh, it's in the air, I guess," the man admitted. "The whole idea is
changing. A man used to be ashamed of the idea of his wife working. Now
men tell you with pride that their wives paint or write or bind
books--Bates' wife makes loads of money designing toys, and Mrs.
Brewster is consulting physician on a hospital staff. Mary
Shotwell--she was a trained nurse--what was it she did?"

"She gave a series of talks on hygiene for rich people's children," his
wife supplied. "And of course Florence Yeats makes candy, and the
Gerrish girls have opened a tea room in the old garage. But it seems
funny, just the same! It seems funny to me that so many women find it
worth while to hire servants, so that they can rush off to make the
money to pay the servants! It would seem so much more normal to stay at
home and do the housework themselves, and it would LOOK better."

"Well, certain women always will, I suppose. And others will find their
outlets in other ways, and begin to look about for Justines, who will
lift the household load. I believe we'll see the time, Sally," said
Kane Salisbury thoughtfully, "when a young couple, launching into
matrimony, will discuss expenses with a mutual interest; you pay this
and I'll pay that, as it were. A trained woman will step into their
kitchen, and Madame will walk off to business with her husband, as a
matter of course."

"Heaven forbid!" Mrs. Salisbury said piously. "If there is anything
romantic or tender or beautiful about married life under those
circumstances, I fail to see it, that's all!"

It happened, a week or two later, on a sharp, sunshiny morning in early
winter, that Mrs. Salisbury and Alexandra found themselves sauntering
through the nicest shopping district of River Falls. There were various
small things to be bought for the wardrobes of mother and daughter,
prizes for a card party, birthday presents for one of the boys, and a
number of other little things.

They happened to pass the windows of Lewis & Sons' big grocery, o