essimist."

"Mr. Morgan said that the trouble with the governing and legislation now
in the United States is that everybody is superficially educated, and
that the people are putting their superficial knowledge into laws, and
that we are going to have a nice time with all these wild theories
and crudities on the statute-book. And then educated people say that
politics is so corrupt and absurd that they cannot have anything to do
with it."

"And how far do you think we could get, my dear, in the crusade you
propose?"

"I don't know that you would get anywhere. Yet I should think the young
men of New York could organize its intelligence and do something.
But you think I'm nothing but a woman." And Edith sank back, as if
abandoning the field.

"I had thought that; but it is hard to tell, these days. Never mind,
when we go back to town I'll stir round; you'll see."

This was an unusual sort of talk. Jack had never heard Edith break out
in this direction before, and he wondered if many women were beginning
to think of men in this way, as cowardly about their public duties.
Not many in his set, he was sure. If Edith had urged him to go into
Neighborhood Guild work, he could have understood that. Women and
ethical cranks were interested in that. And women were getting queerer
every day, beginning, as Mavick said, to take notice. However, it was
odd, when you thought over it, that the city should be ruled by the
slums.

It was easy to talk about these things; in fact, Jack talked a great
deal about them in the clubs, and occasionally with a knot of men after
dinner in a knowing, pessimistic sort of way. Sometimes the discussions
were very animated and even noisy between these young citizens. It
seemed, sometimes, about midnight, that something might be done; but the
resolution vanished next morning when another day, to be lived through,
confronted them. They illustrated the great philosophic observation that
it is practically impossible for an idle man who has nothing to do to
begin anything today.

To do Jack justice, this enforced detention in the country he did not
find dull exactly. To be sure it was vacation-time, and his whole life
was a vacation, and summer was rather more difficult to dispose of than
winter, for one had to make more of an effort to amuse himself. But
Edith was never more charming than in this new dependence, and all his
love and loyalty were evoked in caring for her. This was occupation
enough