Mrs. Fullerton believed implicitly in the value of these experiments, and so long as her husband tried science only on the farm she had no misgivings; but, alas, he had lately taken shares in some company, that was to revolutionize agriculture through an ingenious contrivance for collecting nitrogen from the atmosphere. Mr. Fullerton was confident that the new method was to be a gigantic success. But on this point, his wife uneasily shook her head. She had even tried to persuade Mr. Fullerton to rid himself of his liability. It was so great, she argued, and why should one be made anxious? But her husband assured her that she didn't understand anything about it; women ought not to meddle in business matters; it was a stupendous discovery, sure to make the fortunes of the original shareholders. "When once the prejudice against a new thing has been got over," said the man of science, "you will see----the thing will go like wild-fire." Many years afterwards, these words were remembered by Mrs. Fullerton, and she bitterly regretted that she had not urged the matter more strenuously. "Well, Algitha," said her father, wondering at her silence, "how are the roses getting on? And I hope you have not forgotten the sweet-brier that you promised to grow for me." "Oh, no, father, the sweet-brier has been ordered," returned Algitha, without her usual brightness of manner. "Have you a headache?" enquired Mrs. Fullerton. "I hope you have not all been sitting up talking in Hadria's room, as you are too fond of doing. You have the whole day in which to express your ideas, and I think you might let the remainder wait over till morning." "We _were_ rather late last night," Algitha confessed. "Pressure of ideas overpowering," added Fred. "When _I_ was young, ideas would never have been tolerated in young people for a moment," said Mrs. Fullerton, "it would have been considered a mark of ill-breeding. You may think yourselves lucky to be born at this end of the century, instead of the other." "Indeed we do!" exclaimed Ernest. "It's getting jolly interesting!" "In some respects, no doubt we have advanced," observed his mother, "but I confess I don't understand all your modern notions. Everybody seems to be getting discontented. The poor want to be rich, and the rich want to be millionaires; men want to do their master's work, and women want to do men's; everything is topsy-turvy!" "The question is: What constitutes being right side up?" said Ernest. "One can't exactly say what is topsy-turvy till one knows _that_." "When I was young we thought we _did_ know," said Mrs. Fullerton, "but no doubt we are old-fashioned."