"I think so, most certainly!"
"But why?"
He hesitated.
"Well, the act of smoking in itself is not wrong—but the associations of the habit are unfit for womanhood. I know very well that it has become usual in England for ladies to smoke,—most unfortunately—but there are many habits and customs in this country as well as in others, which, because they are habitual, are not the less, but rather the more, pernicious. I confess to a strong prejudice against smoking women."
"But men smoke—why should not women smoke also?" persisted
Maryllia.
Walden heard this plea with smiling patience.
"Men,—a very large majority of them too—habitually get drunk. Do you think it justifiable for women to get drunk by way of following the men's example?"
"Why no, of course not!"—she answered quickly—"But drunkenness is a vice—-"
"So is smoking! And it is quite as unhealthy as all vices are. There have been more addle-pated statesmen and politicians in England since smoking became a daily necessity with, them than were ever known before. I don't believe in any human being who turns his brain into a chimney. And.—pardon me!—when YOU deliberately put that cigarette in your mouth—-"
"Well!" and a mischievous dimple appeared on each soft cheek as she looked up—"What did you think of me? Now be perfectly frank!"