"It does not seem to me that the criminal colony is in a very bad place, if this is any indication of it. Isn't that way of dealing with crime a strange thing?" remarked George.
"Why so?" asked John. "Is it anything peculiar for the wrongdoers to be banished from a community?"
"No; but it seems wrong to condemn the innocent women and children. Why should they be punished along with the guilty?"
"Probably, in the majority of cases, the women and children would prefer to accompany their husband and father. That does not seem to be so cruel, when it is considered that they are left free to live as much so as in their own community."
"That is what I cannot understand. What is the use of sending them away, if they are not locked up?"
"Do you not know that among the ancients, banishment from a country was the greatest punishment; greater even than death, in the opinion of many; and there are many cases where suicide was preferable. The odium of banishment was so great in those days that only the strongest and the greatest of men could live it down."
"It makes me feel, when I smell this delightful perfume, that the home of the bad people over there must be a beautiful place," said George.
"To give such an opinion, just because of the fragrance that comes from the north is proper for a sentimentalist," said John, as he laughed.
"Well, that is a pretty big name to give, and I suppose it means having some notion that hasn't any sense in it, but just theory?"