factory solution. But after so many useless attempts this
benevolent attitude was abandoned, and scandal grew.

Meanwhile you, Magna, blind to all opinion, continued to follow the same
round: flirtation, sentiment, intimacy, adoration, submission, jealousy,
suspicion, suffering, hatred, and contempt.

The more inferior the man of your choice, the more determined you were
to invest him with extraordinary qualities. But as soon as the next one
appeared on the scene, you began to judge his predecessor at his true
value.

If all this had resulted in your getting the wherewithal to bring up
your children in comfort, I should say straight out: "My dear Magna, pay
no attention to what other people say, go your own road."

But, unfortunately, it is just the reverse; your children suffer. They
are growing up. Wanda and Ingrid are almost young women. In a year or
two they will be at a marriageable age. How much longer do you suppose
you can keep them in ignorance? Perhaps they know things already. I have
sometimes surprised a look in Wanda's eyes which suggested that she saw
more than was desirable.

In my opinion it is better for children not to find out these things
until they are quite old enough to understand them completely. But the
evil is done, and cannot be undone. And yet, Magna, the peace of mind of
these innocent victims is entirely in your hands. You can secure it
without making the sacrifice that your husband's family demands of you.

You have no right to let your children grow up in this unwholesome
atmosphere; and the atmosphere with which their dear mother surrounds
them cannot be described as healthy.

If your character was as strong as your temperament, you would not
hesitate to take all the consequences on your own shoulders. But it is
not so. You would shrink from the hard work involved in emigrating and
making yourself a new home abroad; at the same time you would be lowered
in your own eyes if you gave your children into the care of others.

Then, since for the next few years you will never resign yourself to
single life, and are not likely to find a husband, you must so arrange
your love affairs that they escape the attention of the world. Why
should you mix them up with your home life and your children? What you
need are prudence and calculation; but you have neither.

You will never fix your life on a firm basis until you have relegated
men to the true place they occupy in your existence. If you