The honeymoon might, otherwise, have lasted all their long lives without interruption.  But fate decreed that the clouds should gather from the north, south, east and west to obliterate their sun.  It happened in the shape of two monsters in the form of Flossy and Freddy.  Flossy and Freddy were float rocks.  They had been picked up by Maud and Manfred on their face value and welcomed to the family circle.  They had been assayed at the provincial assay office and found to contain a valuable percentage of real collateral; so our hero and heroine could not be reproached for taking them into their arms and allowing them the freedom of their home pastures.  But, ah! this is where the evil one sneaked on to the happy hearth-rug—­they took the strangers into their arms.  They were all young; and, moreover, human.  What could they do when the failings of their ancestors of a million years took them in an iron grip and led them in a hypnotic spell toward the brink of ruin?  They were as helpless as the Liberals in B.C. politics in the year 1912.  We have often quoted that every one must love one of the opposite sex at least once in a lifetime, and our hero and heroine were not immune from this stern gravitation law, because they were only human after all.  What was the consequence?  Maud fell hopelessly in love with Fred, and Manfred lost his conscience, his manhood, his heart, his soul, his brains, his job and his salary over the Flossy vision.  They had fallen foul of a strong Conservative party, and civil war broke out.  The former happy couple looked upon each other as intruders, as disturbers of the peace.  While before they could not get close enough, now they could not get far enough apart.  Manfred would enjoy his evenings at the ball or opera with Flossy, while Fred would entertain Maud, much to her pleasure, at home.  The wife hated to see her husband come home at all, but she went into hysterics when Fred arrived.  When Fred and Flossy were away, or absent, goodness knows where, the once happy home was like a lunatic asylum, in which the mania with the inmates was a total disregard of each other, and where language was unknown.  The husband and wife drifted further and further apart.  They ceased to smile, ceased to know each other, ceased to see each other.  They were like a lion and a tiger in the same cage.

As time went on the once happy home became a horrid prison.  The children became detestable brats who were stumbling-blocks to their ambitions.

Manfred cooked his own meals, or ate at the “French” Cafe.  Maud had to purchase food and clothing from the local emporium with money she had saved up before marriage while waiting table at the “Best” Hotel.  Finance became frenzied, for Manfred spent both principal, interest and sinking fund on his affinity.  Starvation and the cold world were staring them in the face, for the wolf and the collection man were howling at the door.  The city cut off their light and water supply for non-payment of dues, and were about to seize the property for arrears; so they were on the water wagon and in darkness, but still they would not regain consciousness.