Page:Despotism and democracy; a study in Washington society and politics (IA despotismdemocra00seawiala).pdf/75

 *—I am so ignorant of Congressional matters—how can I get the Congressional Record sent me every day?"

"You have already got it—by mentioning to me that you wished it. It is one of my few privileges. I am glad to do at least that much for you."

Thorndyke heard himself saying these things without his own volition in the least. If Constance Maitland were willing at this moment to give up a fortune for poverty with him, would he accept the sacrifice? Never. How could a woman of her mature age, nurtured in luxury, descend to poverty—for poverty is the lot of every member of Congress who wishes to live in something more than mere decency on his salary. And yet Thorndyke, at every opportunity, had assured Constance Maitland of his unforgetting, of his tender, recollections—in short, of his love. Nor had she showed any unwillingness to listen. It is not a woman's first love for which she wrecks her life; it is her last love—that final struggle for supremacy. There can be no more after that. Sappho, on the great white rock of Mitylene, knew this and perished.

Some thoughts like this came into Constance