"
"Nothing of the kind. But there's no use denying the existence of social
classes in this city, and that, though I flatter myself you and I are
trying to make the most of our lives in accordance with the talents and
means at our disposal, we are not and are not likely to become, for the
present at any rate, socially prominent. That's what you have in mind, I
think. I don't know those people; they don't know me. Consequently they
do not ask me to their beautiful and costly entertainments. Some day,
perhaps, if I am very successful as an architect, we may come more in
contact with them, and they will have a chance to discover what a
charming wife I have. But from the point of view of society, your
neighbor Mrs. Williams is right. She evidently has a clear head on her
shoulders and knows what she desires. You and I believe that we can get
more happiness out of life by pursuing the even tenor of our way in the
position in which we happen to find ourselves."
"I don't understand it," said Selma, shaking her head and looking into
space with her spiritual expression. "It troubles me. It isn't American.
I didn't think such distinctions existed in this country. Is it all a
question of money, then? Do intelligence and--er--purpose count for
nothing?"
"My dear girl, it simply means that the people who are on top--the
people who, by force of success, or ability, or money, are most
prominent in the community, associate together, and the world gives a
certain prominence to their doings.
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