“By the way,” he continued, “speaking of honoring one’s father, I can’t for the life of me see why a fellow should be expected to do that. Fathers are mere accidents in the scheme of nature. You see, anybody will answer for a father, but with your mother—well, that’s different. No other could fill her place. Most people think the male human is the important element in our social system, but that’s all rot. He is a secondary consideration, a mere incident, and should be given to understand it.”
“Um-m ah!” I answered slowly, “I believe the truth is gradually dawning upon him. The new woman is—”
“Great guns, doctor! Do you mean those things with breeches on, that ride bicycles, and play foot ball?”
“Well, in a measure, yes,” I replied.
“Come, come, doctor! I was talking about natural phenomena as involved in the perpetuation of the species; I had no thought of what biologists term sports in nature.”
“Ah, that’s different, my boy,” I said, “unless you use the term ‘sport’ as a double entendre.”
“I don’t think I quite understand you, doctor.”
“Oh well, I suppose my play upon words was a little too commonplace for you,” I replied, meanwhile thinking that the Smith baby, was something of a chump himself. Not wishing to hurt his feelings, however, I held my peace, and he continued:
“Do you know, doctor, I think that if a child is expected to honor its father, it should have some voice in his selection. Now, for example,” and the poor little chap felt of his bumps and gazed mournfully at his crippled limbs, “I should not have been as I am, had I been permitted to select my father. Of course I might have made a mistake, anyway, but you can be assured that I should never have selected Smith.”
“Well, Smith might not have been such a bad father if—”