characters, could possibly be sure
of their sentiments for the rest of their days. They have no business to
marry at such an age. They are bound to alter."

"But they must regard it as their duty not to alter with regard to one
another," said Henriette.

"Quite so; just as they ought to regard it as their duty among other
things, not to grow old," suggested Fred.

"Then, Algitha, do you mean that they may fall in love elsewhere?"
Ernest inquired.

"They very likely _will_ do so, if they make such an absurd start,"
Algitha declared.

"And if they do?"

"Then, if the sentiment stands test and trial, and proves genuine, and
not a silly freak, the fact ought to be frankly faced. Husband and wife
have no business to go on keeping up a bond that has become false and
irksome."

Miss Temperley broke into protest. "But surely you don't mean to defend
such faithlessness."

Algitha would not admit that it _was_ faithlessness. She said it was
mere honesty. She could see nothing inherently wrong in falling in love
genuinely after one arrived at years of discretion. She thought it
inherently idiotic, and worse, to make a choice that ought to be for
life, at years of _in_discretion. Still, people _were_ idiotic, and
that must be considered, as well as all the other facts, such as the
difficulty of really knowing each other before marriage, owing to social
arrangements, and also owing to the training, which made men and women
always pose so ridiculously towards one another, pretending to be
something that they were not.

"Well done, Algitha," cried Ernest, laughing; "I like to hear you speak
out. Now tell me frankly: supposing you married quite young, before you
had had much experience; supposing you afterwards found that you and
your husband had both been deceiving yourselves and each other,
unconsciously perhaps; and suppose, when more fully awakened and
developed, you met another fellow and fell in love with him genuinely,
what would you do?"

"Oh, she would just mention it to her husband casually," Fred interposed
with a chuckle, "and disappear."

"I should certainly not go through terrific emotions and
self-accusations, and think the end of the world had come," said Algitha
serenely. "I should calmly face the situation."

"Calmly! She by supposition being madly in love!" ejaculated Fred, with
a chuckle.

"Calmly," repeated Algitha. "And I should consider carefully what would
be best for all concerned. If I deci