abit, and if I thought Boswell was merely a purveyor
of what is known as Sunday literature, which depends on the goodness of
the day to offset its shortcomings, I should forbid him the house."

A distinct sigh of relief emanated from the chair.

"Then I may remain," was the remark rapidly clicked off on the machine.

"I am glad," said I. "And may I ask whom I have the honor of
addressing?"

"Certainly," was the immediate response. "My name is Socrates, nee
Xanthippe."

I instinctively cowered. Candidly, I was afraid. Never in my life before
had I met a woman whom I feared. Never in my life have I wavered in the
presence of the sex which cheers, but I have always felt that while I
could hold my own with Elizabeth, withstand the wiles of Cleopatra, and
manage the recalcitrant Katherine even as did Petruchio, Xanthippe was
another story altogether, and I wished I had gone to the club. My first
impulse was to call up-stairs to my wife and have her come down. She
knows how to handle the new woman far better than I do. She has never
wanted to vote, and my collars are safe in her hands. She has frequently
observed that while she had many things to be thankful for, her greatest
blessing was that she was born a woman and not a man, and the new women
of her native town never leave her presence without wondering in their
own minds whether or not they are mere humorous contributions of the
Almighty to a too serious world. I pulled myself together as best
I could, and feeling that my better-half would perhaps decline the
proffered invitation to meet with one of the most illustrious of her
sex, I decided to fight my own battle. So I merely said:

"Really? How delightful! I have always felt that I should like to meet
you, and here is one of my devoutest wishes gratified."

I felt cheap after the remark, for Mrs. Socrates, nee Xanthippe, covered
five sheets of paper with laughter, with an occasional bracketing of the
word "derisively," such as we find in the daily newspapers interspersed
throughout the after-dinner speeches of a candidate of another party.
Finally, to my relief, the oft-repeated "Ha-ha-ha!" ceased, and
the line, "I never should have guessed it," closed her immediate
contribution to our interchange of ideas.

"May I ask why you laugh?" I observed, when she had at length finished.

"Certainly," she replied. "Far be it from me to dispute the right of
a man to ask any question he sees fit to ask. Is he not the lor