"You seem decided to have me a caprice of nature," she replied.
"I think you are."
"Is that impudence or irony?"
"Neither. I am an evolutionist and you aid my theories. I believe one of the proofs of Darwinism lies in the imitative sense possessed by the individuals composing American society. When some strange animal from across the water comes among us, we try to copy every grimace and action, until someone else arrives with new affectations and mannerisms, when we begin all over again. We, as a race, are not sufficiently developed to possess originality; we are still a species of the genus ape. Now you, Miss Moreland, are the only member of American society I have yet discovered who is independent enough to possess original and patriotic ideas. You are an American of position and yet not an ape, so you must be a connecting link between us and the more highly developed societies of Europe."
"I think that your conclusions are somewhat erroneous," she replied. "I admit that the society that you describe is typical of the descent of man, but not in a Darwinian sense. It marks a descension from the higher plane reached by the vigorous pioneers who planted and reared our social tree. The leaves toward the East, which have breathed the fetid air of Europe, have shriveled and decayed, but toward the West they are still kept green and vigorous by the pure, native breezes. Some people seem to admire the varied brilliancy of the fading foliage, but I enjoy the vivid native color."
"Aut Americanus aut nullus should be your motto," he replied.
"Could I have a better?"
"You might say l'Americaine c'est moi. No one of your sex and surroundings would dispute the pretension."
"You compliment me, but not my sex. Millions of my country-women would compete for that distinction."
"My observations have been confined to society in its restricted sense; I am not, I acknowledge, the mouth-piece of the rabble."