It was not despite but because of that very thing that they opposed the match!  If only he had not so ably curbed his materialistic tendencies they would have been delighted with this well-bred young man, for his was an even older family than ours, meaning one having money long enough to breed contempt for making it.  Instead of a fortune, however, merely a tradition of noblesse oblige had come down to him, like an unwieldy heirloom.  He had waved aside a promising opening in his cousin’s bond-house on leaving college and invested five important years, as well as his small patrimony, in hard work at the leading universities abroad in order to secure a thorough working capital for the worst-paid profession in the world.

“If there were only some future in the teaching business!” as one of my elder brothers said; “but I’ve looked into the proposition.  Why, even a full professor seldom gets more than four thousand—­in most cases less.  And it will be years before your young man is a full professor.”

“I can wait,” I said.

“But a girl like you could never stand that kind of life.  You aren’t fitted for it.  You weren’t brought up to be a poor man’s wife.”

“Plenty of tune to learn while waiting,” I returned gayly enough, but heartsick at the thought of the long wait.

Carl, however, quite agreed with my brothers and wanted impetuously to start afresh in pursuit of the career in Wall Street he had forsworn, willing and eager—­the darling!—­to throw away ambition, change his inherited tastes, abandon his cultivated talents, and forget the five years he had “squandered in riotous learning,” as he put it!

However, I was not willing—­for his sake.  He would regret it later.  They always do.  Besides, like Carl, I had certain unuttered ideals about serving the world in those days.  We still have.  Only now we better understand the world.  Make no mistake about this.  Men are just as noble as they used to be.  Plenty of them are willing to sacrifice themselves—­but not us.  That is why so few of the sort most needed go in for teaching and preaching in these so-called materialistic days.

What was the actual, material result of my lover’s having taken seriously the advice ladled out to him by college presidents and other evil companions of his innocent youth, who had besought him not to seek material gain?

At the time we found each other he was twenty-seven years of age and had just begun his career—­an instructor in the economics department, with a thousand-dollar salary.  That is not why he was called an economist; but can you blame my brothers for doing their best to break the engagement?...  I do not—­now.  It was not their fault if Carl actually practiced what they merely preached.  Should Carl be blamed?  No; for he seriously intended never to marry at all—­until he met me.  Should I be blamed?  Possibly; but I did my best to break the engagement too—­and incidentally both our hearts—­by going abroad and staying abroad until Carl—­bless him!—­came over after me.