t it. But she is not the only
one to care for it. There are others whom she knows to be wiser. She
knows it because she has studied as they did, practiced as they did, and
honors their real superiority. For the child's sake, she is glad to have
for it this highest care."

I was unconvinced. Besides, this was only hearsay; I had yet to see the
motherhood of Herland.

CHAPTER 8. The Girls of Herland

At last Terry's ambition was realized. We were invited, always
courteously and with free choice on our part, to address general
audiences and classes of girls.

I remember the first time--and how careful we were about our clothes,
and our amateur barbering. Terry, in particular, was fussy to a degree
about the cut of his beard, and so critical of our combined efforts,
that we handed him the shears and told him to please himself. We
began to rather prize those beards of ours; they were almost our sole
distinction among those tall and sturdy women, with their cropped hair
and sexless costume. Being offered a wide selection of garments, we had
chosen according to our personal taste, and were surprised to find,
on meeting large audiences, that we were the most highly decorated,
especially Terry.

He was a very impressive figure, his strong features softened by the
somewhat longer hair--though he made me trim it as closely as I knew
how; and he wore his richly embroidered tunic with its broad, loose
girdle with quite a Henry V air. Jeff looked more like--well, like a
Huguenot Lover; and I don't know what I looked like, only that I felt
very comfortable. When I got back to our own padded armor and its
starched borders I realized with acute regret how comfortable were those
Herland clothes.

We scanned that audience, looking for the three bright faces we knew;
but they were not to be seen. Just a multitude of girls: quiet, eager,
watchful, all eyes and ears to listen and learn.

We had been urged to give, as fully as we cared to, a sort of synopsis
of world history, in brief, and to answer questions.

"We are so utterly ignorant, you see," Moadine had explained to us. "We
know nothing but such science as we have worked out for ourselves,
just the brain work of one small half-country; and you, we gather, have
helped one another all over the globe, sharing your discoveries, pooling
your progress. How wonderful, how supremely beautiful your civilization
must be!"

Somel gave a further suggestion.

"You do not have