"Excuse me, I think not. I meant that I liked people and having to do with
them--with men and women--better than I like things."

"What are 'things'?" inquired Josephine, sarcastically. "You are not very
clear in your way of expressing yourself."

"I will be as clear as you please," answered John, looking across the room
at Miss Schenectady and her ancient friend, and devoutly wishing he could
get away. "I mean by 'things' the study of the inanimate part of creation,
of such sciences as are not directly connected with man's thoughts and
actions, and such pursuits as hunting, shooting, and sporting of all
kinds, which lead only to the amusement of the individual. I mean also the
production of literature for literature's sake, and of works of art for
the mere sake of themselves. When I say I like 'people,' I mean men and
women, their opinions and their relations to each other."

"I should think you would get very tired of them," said Miss Thorn
scornfully. "They are all dreadfully alike."

She never forgot the look Harrington turned upon her as he answered. His
calm, deep-set gray eyes gazed steadily at her, and his square features
assumed an air of gravity that almost startled her.

"I am never tired of men and women," he said. "Has it ever struck you,
Miss Thorn, that the study of men and women means the study of government,
and that a knowledge of men and women may give the power to influence the
destiny of mankind?"

"I never thought of it like that," said Josephine, very quietly. She was
surprised at his manner, and she suddenly felt that he was no ordinary