s are not
laid willfully upon its altar! In a little while this more than average
residence to which Cowperwood had referred was prepared solely to
effect a satisfactory method of concealment. The house was governed by
a seemingly recently-bereaved widow, and it was possible for Aileen to
call without seeming strangely out of place. In such surroundings, and
under such circumstances, it was not difficult to persuade her to
give herself wholly to her lover, governed as she was by her wild and
unreasoning affection and passion. In a way, there was a saving element
of love, for truly, above all others, she wanted this man. She had no
thought or feeling toward any other. All her mind ran toward visions of
the future, when, somehow, she and he might be together for all time.
Mrs. Cowperwood might die, or he might run away with her at thirty-five
when he had a million. Some adjustment would be made, somehow. Nature
had given her this man. She relied on him implicitly. When he told her
that he would take care of her so that nothing evil should befall, she
believed him fully. Such sins are the commonplaces of the confessional.

It is a curious fact that by some subtlety of logic in the Christian
world, it has come to be believed that there can be no love outside the
conventional process of courtship and marriage. One life, one love, is
the Christian idea, and into this sluice or mold it has been endeavoring
to compress the whole world. Pagan thought held no such belief. A
writing of divorce for trivial causes was the theory of the elders; and
in the primeval world nature apparently holds no scheme for the unity of
two beyond the temporary care of the young. That the modern home is
the most beautiful of schemes, when based upon mutual sympathy and
understanding between two, need not be questioned. And yet this fact
should not necessarily carry with it a condemnation of all love not so
fortunate as to find so happy a denouement. Life cannot be put into
any mold, and the attempt might as well be abandoned at once. Those
so fortunate as to find harmonious companionship for life should
congratulate themselves and strive to be worthy of it. Those not
so blessed, though they be written down as pariahs, have yet some
justification. And, besides, whether we will or not, theory or no
theory, the basic facts of chemistry and physics remain. Like is drawn
to like. Changes in temperament bring changes in relationship. Dogma may
bind some mi