In the morning she went to see her grandmother. The old lady had "heard" all she wanted to hear about Dora and Basil Stanhope. If men would marry a fool because she was young and pretty, they must take the consequences. "And why should Stanhope have married at all?" she asked indignantly. "No man can serve God and a woman at the same time. He had to be a bad priest and a good husband, or a bad husband and a good priest. Basil Stanhope was honored, was doing good, and he must needs be happy also. He wanted too much, and lost everything. Serve him right."
"All can now find some fault in poor Basil Stanhope," said Ethel. "Bryce was bitter against him because Miss Caldwell shivers at the word 'divorce.'"
"What has Bryce to do with Jane Caldwell?"
"He is going to marry her, he says."
"Like enough; she's a merry miss of two-score, and rich. Bryce's marriage with anyone will be a well-considered affair--a marriage with all the advantages of a good bargain. I'm tired of the whole subject. If women will marry they should be as patient as Griselda, in case there ever was such a woman; if not, there's an end of the matter."
"There are no Griseldas in this century, grandmother."
"Then there ought to be no marriages. Basil Stanhope was a grand man in public. What kind of a man was he in his home? Measure a man by his home conduct, and you'll not go wrong. It's the right place to draw your picture of him, I can tell you that."
"He has no home now, poor fellow."
"Whose fault was it? God only knows. Where is his wife?"
"She has gone to Paris."
"She has gone to the right place if she wants to play the fool. But there, now, God forbid I should judge her in the dark. Women should stand by women--considering."
"Considering?"
"What they may have to put up with. It is easy to see faults in others. I have sometimes met with people who should see faults in themselves. They are rather uncommon, though."
"I am sure Basil Stanhope will be miserable all his life. He will break his heart, I do believe."
"Not so. A good heart is hard to break, it grows strong in trouble. Basil Stanhope's body will fail long before his heart does; and even so an end must come to life, and after that peace or what God wills."