ene felt that peculiar
sensation which he so often experienced of a certain incongruity in his
matrimonial state. Angela was nice, but to him she was not like these
other women who carried themselves with such an air. There was a
statuesqueness and a sufficiency about many of them, to say nothing of
their superb beauty and sophistication which made him feel, when the
contrast was forced upon him closely, that he had made a terrible
mistake. Why had he been so silly as to marry? He could have told Angela
frankly that he would not at the time, and all would have been well. He
forgot how badly, emotionally, he had entangled himself. But scenes like
these made him dreadfully unhappy. Why, his life if he were single would
now be but beginning!

As he walked round tonight he was glad to be free socially even for a
few minutes. He was glad that first this person and that took the
trouble to talk to Angela. It relieved him of the necessity of staying
near her, for if he neglected her or she felt neglected by others she
was apt to reproach him. If he did not show her attention, she would
complain that he was conspicuous in his indifference. If others refused
to talk to her, it was his place. He should. Eugene objected to this
necessity with all his soul, but he did not see what he was to do about
it. As she often said, even if he had made a mistake in marrying her, it
was his place to stick by her now that he had. A real man would.

One of the things that interested him was the number of beautiful young
women. He was interested to see how full and complete mentally and
physically so many girls appeared to be at eighteen. Why, in their
taste, shrewdness, completeness, they were fit mates for a man of almost
any age up to forty! Some of them looked so wonderful to him--so fresh
and ruddy with the fires of ambition and desire burning briskly in their
veins. Beautiful girls--real flowers, like roses, light and dark. And to
think the love period was all over for him--completely over!

Suzanne came down with others after a while from some room upstairs, and
once more Eugene was impressed with her simple, natural, frank,
good-natured attitude. Her light chestnut-colored hair was tied with a
wide band of light blue ribbon which matched her eyes and contrasted
well with her complexion. Again, her dress was some light flimsy thing,
the color of peach blossoms, girdled with ribbon and edged with flowers
like a wreath. Soft white sandals