mistake he had just made with the waitress, "of course we don't take that
in its closest literality."

"I don't understand you," he said.

"Why, you know it was rather the political than the social traditions of
England that we broke with, in the Revolution."

"How is that?" he returned. "Didn't you break with monarchy and nobility,
and ranks and classes?"

"Yes, we broke with all those things."

"But I found them a part of the social as well as the political structure
in England. You have no kings or nobles here. Have you any ranks or
classes?"

"Well, not exactly in the English sense. Our ranks and classes, such as we
have, are what I may call voluntary."

"Oh, I understand. I suppose that from time to time certain ones among you
feel the need of serving, and ask leave of the commonwealth to subordinate
themselves to the rest of the state and perform all the lowlier offices in
it. Such persons must be held in peculiar honor. Is it something like
that?"

"Well, no, I can't say it's quite like that. In fact I think I'd better
let you trust to your own observation of our life."

"But I'm sure," said the Altrurian, with a simplicity so fine that it was