THE FUTURE OF SOCIETY 223 



to undergo some modification. All attempts to 

 govern the relations of the sexes by mediaeval canon 

 law wiW have to be abandoned, and marriage will 

 come to be regarded even by the Church as a purely 

 civil contract. Despite the fundamental difference 

 in the instincts of the sexes, divorce will probably be 

 procurable by wives and husbands upon precisely 

 equal grounds. These grounds may be expected 

 to vary from time to time, from adultery to mere 

 incompatibility of temper. In this respect the 

 United States of America are passing through an 

 interesting stage of experience. Hardly any two 

 states of the Union regard the question of marriage 

 from the same standpoint. In New York infidelity 

 is the only recognised ground for divorce. In 

 Virginia, however, a marriage may be dissolved 

 if one of the parties is a fugitive from justice ; in 

 "West Virginia and Kentucky the notorious im- 

 morality of a husband before marriage, provided 

 it has been unknown to the wife, is, upon its 

 discovery by her, a valid cause of divorce ; while 

 in Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, and Ehode Island relief 

 may be sought by one of the parties to the marriage 

 bond who can allege any gross neglect of duty 

 against the other. Incompatibility of temper is 



