"Yes," said Stella, "I lost it when Penloe delivered his sermon on that Sunday at church, for I saw in him more than I ever dreamed of seeing in any man, and when I went up and thanked him for his address, and those discerning spiritual eyes of his looked so deeply and searchingly into mine, that he read my secret."
Mrs. Wheelwright went to Stella and pressed her to herself, and kissed her many times. After awhile Stella said:
"Mother, what I want to find in a man is true companionship. Now, look at the young men in Orangeville. There are a very few that are kind, steady young men, but then not one of them would be any companion to me. I don't want to listen to horse talk, or cattle talk, or hog talk, or some old back East yarns all the time. They all live in the social and domestic world; there is nothing intellectual about them; they are not moved by any broad, grand, sweeping, noble impulses. Their ranch, their home, and the excitement of their barterings and dickerings, and the doings of a few of their neighbors constitute the world they live in. And most of them think all that a woman is good for, is to cook, wash, and raise babies. And mother, I told you what kind of young men I met in Roseland; now, they are a sample of the top notch of society. All that many of them want is just the use of a young lady as a toy. And when they use up the flower, like the bee, they go to another. As for real manly worth, interesting, intelligent companionship, it is badly wanting in many of them. Some very few are much better than the rest.
"You know, dear mother, it is not that I want to know a man as a man, but it is natural that I should want and love an interesting male companion. When I think what Penloe is, and then think how little and insignificant I am, a mere child beside him, and only about four years difference in our ages, it makes me feel discouraged."
"Penloe's talk this afternoon," said her mother, "shows that he does not look at it in that way. Don't you remember his saying, 'I have traveled much, been among people of royalty, title and nobility, have lived among the rich, and great society leaders, also among great politicians, learned men, spiritual giants, business people, also among the poor, also the illiterate, the abandoned, the offscouring, and the outcasts of society; and I have yet to see the person that is not as good as I.' So you see he thinks that you are just as good as he. Now, dear, don't be discouraged in the least. I know just how my daughter feels; she wants Penloe as her life companion and wishes she could be to Penloe what he is to her. Stella, dear, calm your mind and remember that if Penloe is for you, you need not have the least anxiety about the matter; for there is no power in the universe that can hinder your being made one. But if he is not for you, then it does not matter how good or great, how grand or noble he may be, how intellectually brilliant he may shine, he should be the last man in the world you should think of as a life companion. For if there is anything that is true it is those lines of Emerson:
"'Whate'er in Nature is thine own,
Floating in air or pent in stone,
Will rive the hills and swim the sea,
And like thy shadow follow thee.'
"Also remember the saying, 'My own will come to me.'"
Nothing more was said. Stella commenced reading "Woman's Freedom in Tiestan," by Burnette. It occupied most of her spare time the next day, and she finished it before supper, so that evening after supper Stella said: "O, mother, I have finished reading 'Woman's Freedom in Tiestan.' It is most interesting. Tiestan is a place little known to the Western world, very few travelers having ever visited the country. I want to read a little of it to you."
Her mother replied: "I shall be delighted to have you," for she always interested herself in anything her daughter was pleased with, so that she might be her companion and confidant when needed.