HIS book is dedicated with feelings of THIS congratulation to women who are sub jects of monarchies, and with feelings of sym pathy to women who are citizens of republics, by Kate Trimble Worley S INTRODUCTION OME little time ago, while travelling abroad, I met a remarkably talented young woman, who at once evinced the greatest friendship for me. She belonged to an aristocratic and very rich family of continental Europe. I immediately discerned that my being a citizen of a Republic was the real and only cause of her marked interest; and some prescience or other straightway caused me to say as little as possible on the subject. As she did the talking I was soon able to find out that she was either a socialist or an anarchist of the most extreme type. In a few days there arrived on the scene a charming young gentleman of rank and distinction, who, in order to renew his offer of marriage, constantly sought the society of this young personage. When she could, she eluded him; when she could not elude him, she rejected him. Naturally I was deeply interested in the romance; and, being a woman, I just as natural ly decided to remain and await the dénouement. My curiosity regarding this fascinating member of my sex was so great that I would have risked anything, even the fate of Lot's wife, to unravel the tangle of her thoughts and actions. She and I soon became almost inseparable companions; and in a short time grew so intimate that she confided to me her secret hopes and fears. She told me that, while she was passionately devoted to her admirer, she would never marry, as she had decided to dedicate her life to the betterment of humanity; that, in her estimation, the only permanent way in which to elevate society was to destroy aristocracies; and that it was with this object in view that she had come so far from home, as it was her only opportunity of meeting other persons who shared her opinions. With them she was going to formulate some plan for the accomplishment of their end. The constant surveillance of her parents would, she said, make it impossible for her to meet her co-workers in the future. Her parents, she explained, were in entire ignorance |