Shelley," I said, "they told you about Laddie and the Princess, didn't
they?"

I knew they had, but I had to make a beginning some way.

"Yes," she said. "I'm glad of it! I think she's pretty as a picture,
and nice as she looks. Laddie may have to hump himself to support her,
but if he can't get her as fine clothes as she has, her folks can help
him. They seem to have plenty, and she's their only child."

"They're going to. I heard Mr. Pryor ask Laddie if he'd be so unkind
as to object to them having the pleasure of giving her things."

"Well, the greenhorn didn't say he would!"

"No. He didn't want to put his nose to the grindstone quite that
close. He said it was between them."

"I should think so!"

"Shelley, there's a question I've been wanting to ask some one for
quite a while."

"What?"

"Why, this! You know, Laddie was in love with the Princess, like you
are when you want to marry folks, for a long, long time, before he
could be sure whether she loved him back."

"Yes."

"Well, now, 'spose she never had loved him, would he have had anything
to be ashamed of?"

"I can't see that he would. Some one must start a courtship, or there
would be no marrying, and it's conceded to be the place of the man.
No. He might be disappointed, or dreadfully hurt, but there would be
no shame about it."

"Well, then, suppose she loved him, and wanted to marry him, and he
hadn't loved her, or wanted her, would SHE have had anything to be
ashamed of?"

"I don't think so! If she was attracted by him, and thought she would
like him, she would have a right to go to a certain extent, to find out
if he cared for her, and if he didn't, why, she'd just have to give him
up. But any sensible girl waits for a man to make the advances, and
plenty of them, before she allows herself even to dream of loving him,
or at least, I would."

Now I was getting somewhere!

"Of course you would!" I said. "That would be the WAY mother would,
wouldn't it?"

"Surely!"

"If that Paget man you used to write about had seemed to be just what
you liked, you'd have waited to know if he wanted you, before you loved
him, wouldn't you?"

"I certainly would!" answered Shelley. "Or at least, I'd have waited
until I THOUGHT sure as death, I knew. It seems that sometimes you can
be fooled about those things."

"But if you thought sure you knew, and then found out you had been
mistaken, you wouldn't have anything to be ASHAMED of,