"I suppose there are avenues of conquest to-day, as there were when the world was young. But I am afraid they are so crowded with the rank and file that paladins ride few and far between. You know," he added, more lightly, "knight-errantry has gone out of fashion, and armor would be a clumsy thing to wear--crossing Broadway, for instance." She laughed happily--her sense of humor was never very deeply buried. "I know," she nodded, "we do not meet many Galahads these days, and most of the armor is make-believe, yet I am sure there are knights whom we do not recognize, with armor which we do not see." The young man sat up a bit straighter in his chair and assumed a more matter-of-fact tone. "Suppose we put aside allegory," he said, "and discuss just how you think a man--myself, for instance--could set the world afire--make it wiser and better, I mean." The embers were dying down, and she looked into them a little longer before replying. Then, presently: "Oh, if I were only a man!" she repeated. "There is so much--so many things--for a man to do. Discovery, science, feats of engineering, the professions, the arts, philanthropy--oh, everything! And for us, so little!" A look of amusement grew about the young man's mouth. He had seen much more of the world than she; was much older in a manner not reckoned by years. "We do not monopolize it all, you know. Quite a few women are engaged in the professions and philanthropy; many in the arts." "The arts, yes, but I am without talent. I play because I have been taught, and because I have practiced--oh, so hard! But God never intended that the world should hear me. I love painting and literature, and all those things. But I cannot create them. I can only look on. I have thought of the professions--I have thought a great deal about medicine and the law. But I am afraid those would not do, either. I cannot understand law papers, even the very simple ones Father has tried to explain to me. And I am not careful enough with medicines--I almost poisoned poor Mamma last week with something that looked like her headache drops and turned out to be a kind of preparation for bruises. Besides, somehow I never can quite see myself as a lawyer in court, or going about as a doctor. Lawyers always have to go to court, don't they? I am afraid I should be so confused, and maybe be arrested. They arrest lawyers don't they, sometimes?" "They should," admitted the young man, "more often than they do. I don't believe you ought to take the risk, at any rate. I somehow can't think of you either as a lawyer or a doctor. Those things don't seem to fit you."