“It's morbid and unhealthy. You've hedged yourself about with the old conventions and imagine you're safe—and you are—until you meet HIM!”
“I'll know how to behave—never fear.”
“You mean you'll know how instantly to blindfold, halter and lead him to the Little Church Around the Corner?”
Mary moved uneasily.
“And what else should I do with him?”
“Compare him with other men. Weigh him in the balances of a remorseless common-sense. Study him under a microscope and keep your reason clear. The girl who rushes into marriage in a great city under the conditions in which you and I live is a fool. More girls are ruined in New York by marriage than by any other process. The thunderbolt out of the blue hasn't struck you yet, but when it does——”
“I'll tell you, Jane.”
“Will you, honestly?”
The question was asked with wistful tenderness.
“I promise. And you mustn't think I don't appreciate this visit and the chance you've given again to enter the `big world' you're always telling me about. I just can't do it, dear. It's not my world.”