"As a friend I congratulate you on the honor you have achieved; I wish that circumstances would permit me to aid you in attaining victory. E.P."
In all the world there is no treasure more precious than the yellow slip of paper which Harvey holds in his hand. It is a proof that Ethel has not forgotten him; it even foretells that if victory were to rest on his standards, he might claim a double prize—the Presidency and a bride.
"What right had I to expect that Ethel could descend from her sphere to share the uncertain fortunes of a social reformer?" he muses.
"The conditions of life that have been fostered in the United States since the era of the multi-millionaire make the problem of marriage more complicated than ever before. How can a woman, born to luxury, hope to find marital felicity with a man dependent on his daily wages for the means of supporting himself and family?
"To say that she may bestow her wealth upon her husband, does not solve the problem; it modifies it by adding a potent deterrent; for a man who will be dependent upon his wife for support, lacks the essential qualifications of a good husband.
"The sharp lines of class distinction now drawn in the country are the cause of most of the unhappiness that attend matrimony. It is the opinion of others, not the needs of self, that engender discontent.
"I must win a position in the world which will demand the respect of all men; then I shall offer Ethel, in place of the ill-gotten millions of her father's fortune, the name and love of an honest and respected man. And I will be honest and respected, even as President.
"What a commentary on human frailty the records of our latter day Chief Magistrates present. Each has been of humble origin. He has risen by virtue of fearless championship of the cause of the masses. Once in the office of the Presidency, all uprightness and independence has left him and he has worshiped at the feet of the Idol of Gold.
"To win the Presidency will be to inaugurate an era of real National prosperity, in which the labor of the people will be insured just remuneration. To win Ethel will be to abolish the distinction of class."
At the very hour Harvey Trueman is pondering over the grave conditions that keep him from making Ethel his wife, she is thinking of the mockery of her riches, which furnish her with every attribute to happiness but one—that eclipses all others—the heart's desire.