“Most men， no doubt，” conceded the philosopher.
“Well then， what ought she to do？ It’s not a real thing， youknow， Mr. Jerningham. It’s in —in a novel I was reading.” Shesaid this hastily， and blushed as she spoke.
“Dear me！ And it’s quite an interesting case！ Yes， I see. Thequestion is， Will she act most wisely in accepting the offerof the man who loves her exceedingly， but for whom sheentertains only a moderate affection—”
“Yes； just a liking. He’s just a friend.”
“Exactly. Or in marrying the other whom she loves ex—”
“That’s not it. How can she marry him？ He hasn’t—hehasn’t asked her， you see.”
“True； I forgot. Let us assume， though， for the moment，that he has asked her. She would then have to consider whichmarriage would probably be productive of the greater sumtotal of—”
“Oh， but you needn’t consider that.”
“But it seems the best logical order. We can afterward makeallowance for the element of uncertainty caused by—”
“Oh no； I don’t want it like that. I know perfectly well whichshe’d do if he—the other man you know—asked her.”
“You apprehend that—”
“Never mind what I ‘apprehend.’ Take it as I told you.”
“Very good. A has asked her hand， B has not.”
“Yes.”
“May I take it that， but for the disturbing influence of B， Awould be a satisfactory—er—candidate？”
“Ye—es； I think so.”
“She therefore enjoys a certainty of considerable happinessif she marries A？”
“Ye—es； not perfect， because of—B， you know.”
“Quite so， quite so； but still a fair amount of happiness. Is itnot so？”
“I don’t—well， perhaps.”
“On the other hand， if B did ask her， we are to postulate ahigher degree of happiness for her？”
“Yes， please， Mr. Jerningham—much higher.”
“For both of them？”
“For her. Never mind him.”
“Very well. That again simplifies the problem. But his askingher is a contingency only？”
“Yes， that’s all.”
The philosopher spread out his hands.
“My dear young lady，” he said， “it becomes a question ofdegree.
How probable or improbable is it？”
“I don’t know； not very probable—unless—”
“Well？”
“Unless he did happen to notice， you know.”
“Ah， yes； we supposed that， if he thought of it， he wouldprobably take the desired step—at least， that he might be led todo so. Could she not—er—indicate her preference？”
“She might try—no， she couldn’t do much. You see， he—hedoesn’t think about such things.”
“I understand precisely. And it seems to me， Miss May， thatin that very fact we find our solution.”
“Do we？” she asked.
“I think so. He has evidently no natural inclination towardher—perhaps not toward marriage at all. Any feeling arousedin him would be necessarily shallow and， in a measure，artificial， and in all likelihood purely temporary. Moreover， ifshe took steps to arouse his attention one of two things wouldbe likely to happen. Are you following me？”
“Yes， Mr. Jerningham.”
“Either he would be repelled by her overtures， —which youmust admit is not improbable，—and then the position would beunpleasant， and even degrading， for her； or， on the other hand，he might， through a misplaced feeling of gallantry—”
“Through what？”
“Through a mistaken idea of politeness， or a mistaken viewof what was kind， allow himself to be drawn into a connectionfor which he had no genuine liking. You agree with me thatone or other of these things would be likely？”
“Yes， I suppose they would， unless he did come to care forher.”
“Ah， you return to that hypothesis. I think it’s an extremelyfanciful one. No， she need not marry A； but she must let Balone.”
The philosopher closed his book， took off his glasses， wipedthem， replaced them， and leaned back against the trunk of theapple-tree. The girl picked a dandelion in pieces. After a longpause she asked：
“You think B’s feelings wouldn’t be at all likely to—tochange？”
“That depends on the sort of man he is. But if he is an ableman， with intellectual interests which engross him—a manwho has chosen his path in life—a man to whom women’ssociety is not a necessity—”
“He’s just like that，” said the girl， and she bit the head off adaisy.
“Then，” said the philosopher， “I see not the least reason forsupposing that his feelings will change.”
“And would you advise her to marry the other —A？”
“Well， on the whole， I should. A is a good fellow （I think wemade A a good fellow）， he is a suitable match， his love for heris true and genuine—”
“It’s tremendous！”