"There are the children to be considered," I explained."A woman feels it even without knowing.It is her instinct."The Old Maid smiled on me her thanks.
"It is where I was leading," said the Minor Poet."Woman has been appointed by Nature the trustee of the children.It is her duty to think of them, to plan for them.If in marriage she does not take the future into consideration, she is untrue to her trust.""Before you go further," interrupted the Philosopher, "there is an important point to be considered.Are children better or worse for a pampered upbringing? Is not poverty often the best school?""It is what I always tell George," remarked the Woman of the World, "when he grumbles at the tradesmen's books.If Papa could only have seen his way to being a poor man, I feel I should have been a better wife.""Please don't suggest the possibility," I begged the Woman of the World; "the thought is too bewildering.""You were never imaginative," replied the Woman of the World.
"Not to that extent," I admitted.
"'The best mothers make the worst children,'" quoted the Girton Girl."I intend to bear that in mind.""Your mother was a very beautiful character--one of the most beautiful I ever knew," remarked the Old Maid.