"But what will you do with the neat little church?"
"Oh! that we shall keep merely to remind us of what is necessary
in less fortunate communities."
"Very good; but how, if you have no parsons, will you perform the
marriage ceremony?"
"That shall be a natural operation of government. The voters having
given their suffrages, you shall determine and declare with whom
the majority lies, and give a certificate to that effect. The first
choice will lie with the damsel having the highest number of votes;
the second with the next; and so on to the end of the chapter; and
then elections are to take place annually among the unmarried--the
ladies being the privileged class as I said before. You will keep
a record of these events, the names of parties, and so forth; and
this record shall be proof, conclusive to conviction, against any
party falling off from his or her duties."
"Quite a system. I do not deny that our sex will have some new
privileges by this arrangement."
"Unquestionably. But you have not heard all. We shall have no
doctors, for we shall have no diseases in the beautiful world to
which I shall carry you. We shall have no lawyers, for we shall
have no wrangling."
"Indeed; but what is my husband to do then?"
"Why, he is your husband. What should he do? He takes rank from
you. You are queen, you know. He will have no need of law."
"There's reason in that; but how will you prevent wrangling where
there are men and women?"
"Oh, by giving the women their own way. The government is a
despotism--you are queen--surely you will make no further objection
to so admirable a system?"
In good-humored chat like this, in which our landlady, Mrs.
Porterfield--a lady who, though fully sixty-five years of age, was
yet of a cheery and chatty disposition--took considerable part,
our first evening passed away. Though fatigued, we sat up until a
tolerably late hour, enlivened by the frank spirit of our friend,
Kingsley, and inspired by the natural feeling of curiosity which
our change of situation inspired It was midnight before we solicited
the aid of sleep.