Cato learned Greek at eighty. The minute people cease to learn--even a vice--they have begun to grow old. So beware. MRS. RAY (_Striking a match_) Let me light it for you. PROFESSOR (_Slyly_) Which illustrates a woman’s part in life: encouraging vice in men, eh? (_He lights it and puffs in enjoyment._) I must say I like my idea about the cake and the candles. MRS. RAY It’s lovely, dear. Who but you would have thought of having a birthday cake on our wedding anniversary. PROFESSOR I started to put forty candles: one for each year; but there was no room left for the cake. MRS. RAY I like the idea of three--just three. PROFESSOR Yes; three birthdays that meant so much in our time together: Teddy, Mary and Paul. MRS. RAY Forty years! PROFESSOR It’s a long while to be married, dear. Speaks well for our patience, eh? MRS. RAY And not a word to-night from our three children. PROFESSOR (_Waving it aside_) After all, our marriage didn’t concern them--at the time. MRS. RAY And we never forget their anniversaries. PROFESSOR But think how important those have always been from the beginning: each one the start of a great adventure for us. MRS. RAY And more responsibility. PROFESSOR Certainly. Isn’t that the way we have broadened our lives? Think, dear, of how many times we have been young--once with our own youth and three times with our candles. MRS. RAY (_She rises and goes to the roses which she inhales_) And our hair is white. PROFESSOR (_Gallantly rising also_) That can’t be blamed on the children. White hair doesn’t indicate marriage--always. It’s a matter of pigment, I’m told, and affects bachelors equally. MRS. RAY You’re right, of course, dear. We have kept young through having our children; only---- PROFESSOR (_Coming to her_) Only what? Surely there isn’t a regret as you look back? MRS. RAY Oh, no, not regret; only so many of our dreams have never been realized. PROFESSOR (_As he breaks off a rose and gives it to her_) But we have dreamed; that’s the important thing, isn’t it? MRS. RAY (_Looking at rose_) I suppose so. PROFESSOR Of course it is, dear. And we have dreamed more than most because we have been young four times. MRS. RAY (_As she crosses to the sofa_) But it’s always been through others--for others. PROFESSOR But _now_ it is for ourselves. MRS. RAY (_Smiling_) You mean our house? PROFESSOR Yes. Now that they’ve retired me with a pension and our children no longer need our help, we can build our house. MRS. RAY (_Wearily, as she sits_) We have built so many houses. PROFESSOR Yes. Life’s an experiment. Remember the first little cottage where Teddy was born? It didn’t leave us much margin even though it was small. Come to think of it, dear, we’ve built three houses, haven’t we? MRS. RAY It’s the fourth we’ve really thought of most--and that hasn’t been built _yet_. PROFESSOR That’s to be ours--all ours; with room for the children if they want to come back. MRS. RAY