e upon his habits of thought than this place. The spectacle of the
little pink creatures, their feeble limbs swaying uncertainly in vague
first movements, left alone, without embrace or endearment, was wholly
repugnant to him. The attendant doctor was of a different opinion. His
statistical evidence showed beyond dispute that in the Victorian times
the most dangerous passage of life was the arms of the mother, that
there human mortality had ever been most terrible. On the other hand
this _creche_ company, the International Creche Syndicate, lost not
one-half per cent of the million babies or so that formed its peculiar
care. But Graham's prejudice was too strong even for those figures.

Along one of the many passages of the place they presently came upon a
young couple in the usual blue canvas peering through the transparency
and laughing hysterically at the bald head of their first-born. Graham's
face must have showed his estimate of them, for their merriment ceased
and they looked abashed. But this little incident accentuated his sudden
realisation of the gulf between his habits of thought and the ways of
the new age. He passed on to the crawling rooms and the Kindergarten,
perplexed and distressed. He found the endless long playrooms were
empty! the latter-day children at least still spent their nights in
sleep. As they went through these, the little officer pointed out the
nature of the toys, developments of those devised by that inspired
sentimentalist Froebel. There were nurses here, but much was done by
machines that sang and danced and dandled.

Graham was still not clear upon many points. "But so many orphans," he
said perplexed, reverting to a first misconception, and learnt again
that they were not orphans.

So soon as they had left the _creche_ he began to speak of the horror
the babies in their incubating cases had caused him. "Is motherhood
gone?" he said. "Was it a cant? Surely it was an instinct. This seems so
unnatural--abominable almost."

"Along here we shall come to the dancing place," said Asano by way of
reply. "It is sure to be crowded. In spite of all the political unrest
it will be crowded. The women take no great interest in politics--except
a few here and there. You will see the mothers--most young women in
London are mothers. In that class it is considered a creditable thing to
have one child--a proof of animation. Few middle class people have more
than one. With the Labour Company it is d