that superior delicacy and purity which women mani- 
fest in family life. But if women are going to be less 
careful about delicacy and decorum and family purity than 
men are, the quagmire of politics, foul enough now, will 
become putrid." 



A 



282 MY WIFE AND I 

"Oh, come," said Eva, "the subject does get too wordnetfear- 
ful; I can't bear to think of it, and I move that we have 
a game of whist, and put an end to it. Come, now, do 
let 's sit down sociably, and have something agreeable. " 

We went out into the parlor and sat down to the whist- 
table, Eva and Alice, with Jim Fellows and myself respec- 
tively as partners, and indulged ourselves in one of those 
agreeable chatty games which make the designation " whist '' 
quite an amusing satire  one of those games played with 
that charming disregard of all rules which is so inspiring. 
In the best of  we talked across the table to each 
other, trumped our partners' queens, and did all sorts of 
enormities in the  of the brilliant by- play of 
conversation which we kept up all the while. It may be 
a familiar experience to many, that one never thinks of 
so many  to say,