[desertblues]

Among other countries, England is a class-conscious society in these days.
" A man should not hove his Christian name used by every Tom and Dick without his sanction'.(p.14).
And, as Bookpossum and Bookworm- girl point out; the position of women is precarious; they seem to have few rights and have to carve their own place in society. When miss Trefoil writes to Lord Rufford, the narrator remarks:
' There was a great deal in this letter which was not true. But then such ladies as Miss Trefoil can never afford to tell the truth'.(p.198).

It is the old world against the modern, relatively young United States of America, personalized in the spunky American senator Gotobed.
The Senator critizises the workings of the British society and that angers Mr. Morton into saying: 'When I see Americans loafing about in the bar-room of an hotel, I'm lost in amazement'. Gotobed good-humored replies that 'there is not a man you see who couldn't give a reason for his being there. He has an object in view, though perhaps it may be no better than to rob his neighbour'.(p.69).

I am about halfway through (225 of 508) and looking forward to the reappearance of the Senator again. I am totally in the book now; following with interest the developments on the romantic side and feeling for Larry Twentyman who cries over a girl. On the same time I admire that girl for defying her family and not living up to the expectations of society. The narrator seems to like this as well.