thing
and, saddest of all, the complacent delusion that they have achieved
something well worth while--it makes me willing to earn and learn as I
do."

"Don't leave me in the quicksand. What can we do about it?"

"Make that sort of American woman realize that she is more needed in
the home and can accomplish more with that as her goal than in any
other place in the world. You don't know all my dreams for the
American woman--don't you think that this Gorgeous Girl parasitical
type is a result of the Victorian revolt? Too late for themselves the
Victorian matrons said: 'Our daughters shall never slave as we have
done; they shall be ladies--and have careers, too, bless their
hearts.' The Victorian matrons were emerging from the unfair
conditions of ignorance and drudgery and they could realize only one
side of the argument--that all work and no play made Jill quite a
stupid girl.

"But we must grasp the other side of the matter--that all play and no
work make her simply impossible; that culture and self-sufficiency can
go hand in hand. The American woman really is--and must continue to
be--the all-round, regular fellow of the feminine world. Then she will
not only teach a great and needed truth to her backward European
sisters but she will produce a great future race. American women have
tried frivolity in nearly every form and they have worked seriously
likewise; they have intruded into men's professions and careers and in
cases have beaten men at their own game. They have successfully broken
down the narrow prejudice and limitations which the Victorian era
tried making immortal under the title of sentiment--but after they
have had the reward of victory and the knowledge of the game, why not
be square, as they really are, and do the part the Great Plan meant
them to do? Be women first--let the career take the woman if need be,
but always thank the good Lord if it needn't be."

"And to think you have been working for me," Steve said, softly.

"I know that culture and enjoyment of life may be yoked with so-called
drudgery. I know, too, that women are retiring not in defeat but with
honour and victory in its truest sense when they step out of business
life back to their homes. Nor are they empty-handed like the Victorian
matrons; but with the energy of tried and true warriors, the ballot in
one hand, the child led by the other, they are in a position to right
old wrongs, for they have won new rights. They will be able