244 DUCK-SHOOTING. 
“¢ Another of my failings is inability to say no. A 
moment’s consideration would have told me it was 
far from honorable to assume the place of another 
person, and that person the husband of a pretty 
woman; but in my state of hesitancy or virtuous 
indignation at being falsely accused of drinking, or 
without really anticipating what would happen, I 
obeyed; and bringing my face near hers, encoun- 
tered the sweetest pair of lips in Christendom. 
“‘¢T am not quite sure,’ she said, ‘let me see again.’ 
“ Now that was clearly her fault, and left me no 
excuse for refusing her absolute satisfaction. 
““¢ Make haste, Oscar,’ she whispered, ‘how cold 
you are.’” 
The lucky man paused, while the chorus breath- 
lessly broke in with: 
“Did you make haste ?” 
“Gentlemen, man is a contemptible creature in 
his treatment of woman; she is infinitely his supe- 
rior in every good quality, and he absolutely takes 
advantage of his baser capacities to betray her supe- 
rior nature. He matches his cunning against her 
truthfulness, his selfishness against her disinterested- 
ness, his deceitfulness against her affection. Wo- 
man’s nobleness of heart is a provision of nature 
to prevent the degeneration of our species; were 
women as bad as men, our children would be brutes 
or idiots. Traits of mind and heart are transmit- 
ted—” 
Cuorus—“ Never mind all that, did you make 
haste ?” 
