e'd deserve it, General," said Mildred's mother earnestly. "But
you'll have no trouble if you select a lady--a girl who's been well
brought up and has respect for herself."

"That's my opinion, ma'am," said the general. "I'm convinced that while
a man can become a gentleman, a woman's got to be born a lady or she
never is one."

"Very true, General," cried Mrs. Presbury. "I never thought of it
before, but it's the truest thing I ever heard."

Presbury grinned at his plate. He stole a glance at Mildred. Their
eyes met. She flushed faintly.

"I've had a great deal of experience of women," pursued the general.
"In my boyhood days I was a ladies' man. And of course since I've had
money they've swarmed round me like bees in a clover-patch."

"Oh, General, you're far too modest," cried Mrs. Presbury. "A man like
you wouldn't need to be afraid, if he hadn't a cent."

"But not the kind of women I want," replied he, firmly if complacently.
"A lady needs money to keep up her position. She has to have it. On
the other hand, a man of wealth and station needs a lady to assist him
in the proper kind of life for men of his sort. So they need each
other. They've got to have each other. That's the practical, sensible
way to look at it."

"Exactly," said Presbury.

"And I've made up my mind to marry, and marry right away. But we'll
come back to this later on. Presbury, you're neglecting that wine."

"I'm drinking it slowly to enjoy it better," said Presbury.

The dinner was the same unending and expensive function that had
wearied them and upset their digestions on Thanksgiving Day. There was
too much of everything, and it was all just wrong. The general was not
quite so voluble as he had been before; his gaze was fixed most of the
time on Mildred--roving from her lovely face to her smooth, slender
shoulders and back again. As he drank and ate his gesture of slightly
smacking his thin lips seemed to include an enjoyment of the girl's
charms. And a sensitive observer might have suspected that she was not
unconscious of this and was suffering some such pain as if abhorrent
and cruel lips and teeth were actually mouthing and mumbling her. She
said not a word from sitting down at table until they rose to go into
the library for coffee.

"Do tell me about your early life, General," Mrs. Presbury said. "Only
the other day Millie was saying she wished she could read a biography
of your romantic career."

"Yes, i