Reducedtotheplainexpressionofwhatitisreallyworth，theaverageEnglishideaofbeautyinwomenmaybesummedupinthreewords——youth，health，plumpness。Themorespiritualcharmofintelligenceandvivacity，thesubtlerattractionofdelicacyoflineandfitnessofdetail，arelittlelookedforandseldomappreciatedbythemassofmeninthisisland。ItisimpossibleotherwisetoaccountfortheextraordinaryblindnessofperceptionwhichtogiveoneinstanceonlymakesnineEnglishmenoutoftenwhovisitFrancecomebackdeclaringthattheyhavenotseenasingleprettyFrenchwoman，inoroutofParis，inthewholecountry。Ourpopulartypeofbeautyproclaimsitself，initsfullestmaterialdevelopment，ateveryshopinwhichanillustratedperiodicalissold。Thesamefleshy-facedgirl，withthesameinanesmile，andwithnootherexpressionwhatever，appearsundereveryformofillustration，weekafterweek，andmonthaftermonth，alltheyearround。ThosewhowishtoknowwhatMrs。Glenarmwaslike，haveonlytogooutandstopatanybookseller’sornews-vendor’sshop，andtheretheywillseeherinthefirstillustration，withayoungwomaninit，whichtheydiscoverinthewindow。TheonenoticeablepeculiarityinMrs。Glenarm’spurelycommonplaceandpurelymaterialbeauty，whichwouldhavestruckanobservantandacultivatedman，wasthecuriousgirlishnessofherlookandmanner。Nostrangerspeakingtothiswoman——whohadbeenawifeattwenty，andwhowasnowawidowattwenty-four——wouldeverhavethoughtofaddressingherotherwisethanas“Miss。“
“IsthattheuseyoumakeofaflowerwhenIgiveittoyou？“shesaidtoGeoffrey。“Mumblingitinyourteeth，youwretch，asifyouwereahorse!“
“Ifyoucometothat，“returnedGeoffrey，“I’mmoreahorsethanaman。I’mgoingtoruninarace，andthepublicarebettingonme。Haw!haw!Fivetofour。“
“Fivetofour!Ibelievehethinksofnothingbutbetting。Yougreatheavycreature，Ican’tmoveyou。Don’tyouseeIwanttogoliketherestofthemtothelake？No!you’renottoletgoofmyarm!You’retotakeme。“
“Can’tdoit。MustbebackwithPerryinhalfanhour。“
PerrywasthetrainerfromLondon。Hehadarrivedsoonerthanhehadbeenexpected，andhadenteredonhisfunctionsthreedayssince。
“Don’ttalktomeaboutPerry!Alittlevulgarwretch。Puthimoff。Youwon’t？DoyoumeantosayyouaresuchabrutethatyouwouldratherbewithPerrythanbewithme？“
“Thebetting’satfivetofour，mydear。Andtheracecomesoffinamonthfromthis。“
“Oh!goawaytoyourbelovedPerry!Ihateyou。Ihopeyou’lllosetherace。Stopinyourcottage。Praydon’tcomebacktothehouse。And——mindthis!——don’tpresumetosay’mydear’tomeagain。“
“Itain’tpresuminghalffarenough，isit？Waitabit。Givemetilltheraceisrun——andthenI’llpresumetomarryyou。“
“You!YouwillbeasoldasMethuselah，ifyouwaittillIamyourwife。IdaresayPerryhasgotasister。Supposeyouaskhim？Shewouldbejusttherightpersonforyou。“
Geoffreygavethefloweranotherturninhisteeth，andlookedasifhethoughttheideaworthconsidering。
“Allright，“hesaid。“Anythingtobeagreeabletoyou。I’llaskPerry。“
Heturnedaway，asifhewasgoingtodoitatonce。Mrs。Glenarmputoutalittlehand，ravishinglyclothedinablush-coloredglove，andlaiditontheathlete’smightyarm。ShepinchedthoseironmusclestheprideandgloryofEnglandgently。“Whatamanyouare!“shesaid。“Inevermetwithanybodylikeyoubefore!“
ThewholesecretofthepowerthatGeoffreyhadacquiredoverherwasinthosewords。
TheyhadbeentogetheratSwanhavenforlittlemorethantendays；andinthattimehehadmadetheconquestofMrs。Glenarm。
Onthedaybeforethegarden-party——inoneoftheleisureintervalsallowedhimbyPerry——hehadcaughtheralone，hadtakenherbythearm，andhadaskedher，insomanywords，ifshewouldmarryhim。Instancesonrecordofwomenwhohavebeenwooedandwonintendaysare——tospeakitwithallpossiblerespect——notwanting。Butaninstanceofawomanwillingtohaveitknownstillremainstobediscovered。Theiron-master’swidowexactedapromiseofsecrecybeforethecommittedherselfWhenGeoffreyhadpledgedhiswordtoholdhistongueinpublicuntilshegavehimleavetospeak，Mrs。Glenarm，withoutfurtherhesitation，saidYes——having，beitobserved，saidNo，inthecourseofthelasttwoyears，toatleasthalfadozenmenwhowereGeoffrey’ssuperiorsineveryconceivablerespect，exceptpersonalcomelinessandpersonalstrength。
Thereisareasonforeverything；andtherewasareasonforthis。
Howeverpersistentlytheepicenetheoristsofmoderntimesmaydenyit，itisneverthelessatruthplainlyvisibleinthewholepasthistoryofthesexesthatthenaturalconditionofawomanistofindhermasterinaman。Lookinthefaceofanywomanwhoisinnodirectwaydependentonaman：and，ascertainlyasyouseethesuninacloudlesssky，youseeawomanwhoisnothappy。
Thewantofamasteristheirgreatunknownwant；thepossessionofamasteris——unconsciouslytothemselves——theonlypossiblecompletionoftheirlives。Inninety-ninecasesoutofahundredthisoneprimitiveinstinctisatthebottomoftheotherwiseinexplicablesacrifice，whenweseeawoman，ofherownfreewill，throwherselfawayonamanwhoisunworthyofher。Thisoneprimitiveinstinctwasatthebottomoftheotherwiseinexplicablefacilityofself-surrenderexhibitedbyMrs。
Glenarm。
UptothetimeofhermeetingwithGeoffrey，theyoungwidowhadgatheredbutoneexperienceinherintercoursewiththeworld——theexperienceofacharteredtyrant。Inthebriefsixmonthsofhermarriedlifewiththemanwhosegrand-daughtershemighthavebeen——andoughttohavebeen——shehadonlytoliftherfingertobeobeyed。Thedotingoldhusbandwasthewillingslaveofthepetulantyoungwife’sslightestcaprice。Atalaterperiod，whensocietyoffereditstriplewelcometoherbirth，herbeauty，andherwealth——gowhereshemight，shefoundherselftheobjectofthesameprostrateadmirationamongthesuitorswhoviedwitheachotherintherivalryforherhand。ForthefirsttimeinherlifesheencounteredamanwithawillofhisownwhenshemetGeoffreyDelamaynatSwanhavenLodge。
Geoffrey’soccupationofthemomentespeciallyfavoredtheconflictbetweenthewoman’sassertionofherinfluenceandtheman’sassertionofhiswill。
Duringthedaysthathadintervenedbetweenhisreturntohisbrother’shouseandthearrivalofthetrainer，Geoffreyhadsubmittedhimselftoallneedfulpreliminariesofthephysicaldisciplinewhichwastopreparehimfortherace。Heknew，bypreviousexperience，whatexerciseheoughttotake，whathoursheoughttokeep，whattemptationsatthetablehewasboundtoresist。OverandoveragainMrs。Glenarmtriedtolurehimintocommittinginfractionsofhisowndiscipline——andoverandoveragaintheinfluencewithmenwhichhadneverfailedherbeforefailedhernow。Nothingshecouldsay，nothingshecoulddo，wouldmove_this_man。Perryarrived；andGeoffrey’sdefianceofeveryattemptedexerciseofthecharmingfemininetyranny，towhicheveryoneelsehadbowed，grewmoreoutrageousandmoreimmovablethanever。Mrs。GlenarmbecameasjealousofPerryasifPerryhadbeenawoman。Sheflewintopassions；sheburstintotears；sheflirtedwithothermen；shethreatenedtoleavethehouse。Allquiteuseless!GeoffreyneveroncemissedanappointmentwithPerry；neveroncetouchedanythingtoeatordrinkthatshecouldofferhim，ifPerryhadforbiddenit。Nootherhumanpursuitissohostiletotheinfluenceofthesexasthepursuitofathleticsports。Nomenaresoentirelybeyondthereachofwomenasthemenwhoselivesarepassedinthecultivationoftheirownphysicalstrength。GeoffreyresistedMrs。Glenarmwithouttheslightesteffort。Hecasuallyextortedheradmiration，andundesignedlyforcedherrespect。Sheclungtohim，asahero；sherecoiledfromhim，asabrute；shestruggledwithhim，submittedtohim，despisedhim，adoredhim，inabreath。Andtheclewtoitall，confusedandcontradictoryasitseemed，layinonesimplefact——Mrs。Glenarmhadfoundhermaster。
“Takemetothelake，Geoffrey!“shesaid，withalittlepleadingpressureoftheblush-coloredhand。
Geoffreylookedathiswatch。“Perryexpectsmeintwentyminutes，“hesaid。
“Perryagain!“
“Yes。“
Mrs。Glenarmraisedherfan，inasuddenoutburstoffury，andbrokeitwithonesmartblowonGeoffrey’sface。
“There!“shecried，withastampofherfoot。“Mypoorfanbroken!Youmonster，allthroughyou!“
Geoffreycoollytookthebrokenfanandputitinhispocket。
“I’llwritetoLondon，“hesaid，“andgetyouanother。Comealong!Kiss，andmakeitup。“
Helookedovereachshoulder，tomakesurethattheywerealonethenliftedheroffthegroundshewasnolightweight，heldherupintheairlikeababy，andgaveheraroughloud-soundingkissoneachcheek。“Withkindcomplimentsfromyourstruly!“hesaid——andburstoutlaughing，andputherdownagain。
“Howdareyoudothat？“criedMrs。Glenarm。“IshallclaimMrs。
Delamayn’sprotectionifIamtobeinsultedinthisway!Iwillneverforgiveyou，Sir!“Asshesaidthoseindignantwordssheshotalookathimwhichflatlycontradictedthem。Thenextmomentshewasleaningonhisarm，andwaslookingathimwonderingly，forthethousandthtime，asanentirenoveltyinherexperienceofmalehumankind。“Howroughyouare，Geoffrey!“shesaid，softly。Hesmiledinrecognitionofthatartlesshomagetothemanlyvirtueofhischaracter。Shesawthesmile，andinstantlymadeanotherefforttodisputethehatefulsupremacyofPerry。“Puthimoff!“whisperedthedaughterofEve，determinedtolureAdamintotakingabiteoftheapple。“Come，Geoffrey，dear，nevermindPerry，thisonce。Takemetothelake!“
Geoffreylookedathiswatch。“Perryexpectsmeinaquarterofanhour，“hesaid。
Mrs。Glenarm’sindignationassumedanewform。Sheburstoutcrying。Geoffreysurveyedherforamomentwithabroadstareofsurprise——andthentookherbybotharms，andshookher!
“Lookhere!“hesaid，impatiently。“Canyoucoachmethroughmytraining？“
“IwouldifIcould!“
“That’snothingtodowithit!Canyouturnmeout，fit，onthedayoftherace？Yes？orNo？“
“No。“
“ThendryyoureyesandletPerrydoit。“
Mrs。Glenarmdriedhereyes，andmadeanothereffort。