She told me a thousand other things of this kind,
and when I grew older she put into my hand what has been written on
the subject.'
'Good God! Has the narrow-minded tomfoolery got a literature?'
Winnie went on with her eloquent account of her aunt's doctrines, and
to my surprise I found that there actually _was_ a literature of the
subject.
Winnie's bright eyes had actually pored over old and long Chartist
tracts translated into Welsh, and books on the Christian Socialism of
Charles Kingsley, and pamphlets on more' recent kinds of Socialism.
As she went on I could not help murmuring now and then, 'What
surroundings for my Winnie!'
'And the result of all this was, Winnie, that your aunt asked you to
promise not to marry a man demoralised by privileges and made
contemptible by wealth.'
'That is what she wanted me to promise; but as I have said, I did
not. But I did promise to wait for a year and see what effect wealth
would have upon you.'
'Did your aunt not tell you also that the man who marries you can
never be unmanned by wealth, because he will know that everything he
can give is as dross when set against Winnie's love and Winnie's
beauty: Did she not also tell you that?'
'Love and beauty!' said Winnie.
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