“Well, we shall see; but I will make my preparations, nevertheless, precisely as if he were not likely to be content. I have formed to myself a plan for all of you. I must make a dear little colony of our own in Texas. We shall have a nest of the sweetest little cottages, each with its neat little garden. In the centre we shall have a neat little playground for our neat little children; on the hill a neat little church; in the grove a neat little library; on the river a neat little barge; and over this neat little empire, you, Lady Clifford, shall be the neat little empress.” “Dear me! what a neat little establishment!” “It shall be all that, I assure you; and it shall have other advantages. You shall have a kingdom free from taxes and wars. There shall be no law-givers but yourself. We shall have no elections except when we elect our wives, and the women shall be the only voters then. We shall have no custom houses--everything shall be free of duty;--we shall have no banks--everything shall be free of charge;--we shall have no parson, for shall we not be sinless?” “But what will you do with the neat little church?” “Oh! that we shall keep merely to remind us of what is necessary in less fortunate communities.” “Very good; but how, if you have no parsons, will you perform the marriage ceremony?” “That shall be a natural operation of government. The voters having given their suffrages, you shall determine and declare with whom the majority lies, and give a certificate to that effect. The first choice will lie with the damsel having the highest number of votes; the second with the next; and so on to the end of the chapter; and then elections are to take place annually among the unmarried--the ladies being the privileged class as I said before. You will keep a record of these events, the names of parties, and so forth; and this record shall be proof, conclusive to conviction, against any party falling off from his or her duties.” “Quite a system. I do not deny that our sex will have some new privileges by this arrangement.” “Unquestionably. But you have not heard all. We shall have no doctors, for we shall have no diseases in the beautiful world to which I shall carry you. We shall have no lawyers, for we shall have no wrangling.” “Indeed; but what is my husband to do then?” “Why, he is your husband. What should he do? He takes rank from you. You are queen, you know. He will have no need of law.” “There's reason in that; but how will you prevent wrangling where there are men and women?” “Oh, by giving the women their own way. The government is a despotism--you are queen--surely you will make no further objection to so admirable a system?”