quarreled--and made up--and quarreled--and then grew indifferent, and
had cynical thoughts about life.

At this point, the doctor put them back with their original mates.

And--they met with a rush! Gave cries of recognition and joy,
like faithful souls re-united. And when they were tired, they
affectionately curled up together; and hugged each other even at
mealtime, and exchanged bits of food.


This was as far as the doctor had gotten, at the time that I met
him; and as I have lost touch with him since, I don't know how
things were afterward. His theory at the time was, that variety
was good for fidelity.

"So how can /we/ help being that way? It's in the blood," he
concluded. "Some creatures, such as wolves, are more serious;
or perhaps more cold-blooded. Never mate but once. Well--we're
not wolves. We can't make wolves our models. If we want to know
how to behave, according to the way nature made us, if we want to
know what is good for our instincts, we must study the monkeys."

To be sure, these particular monkeys were living in idleness.
This corresponds to living in high social circles with us, where
men do not have to work, and lack some of the common incentives to
home-building. The experiment was not conclusive.

Still, even in low social circles--