The complications which had followed his various sentimental¹ affairs left Cowperwood in a quandary² at times as to whether there could be any peace or satisfaction outside of monogamy, after all. Although Mrs. Hand had gone to Europe at the crisis of her affairs, she had returned to seek him out. Cecily Haguenin found many opportunities of writing him letters and assuring him of her undying affection. Florence Cochrane persisted in seeing or attempting to see him even after his interest in her began to wane³. For another thing Aileen, owing to the complication and general degeneracy of her affairs, had recently begun to drink. Owing to the failure of her affair with Lynde—for in spite of her yielding she had never had any real heart interest in it—and to the cavalier attitude with which Cowperwood took her disloyalty, she had reached that state of speculative⁴ doldrums where the human animal turns upon itself in bitter self-analysis; the end with the more sensitive or the less durable⁵ is dissipation or even death. Woe⁶ to him who places his faith in illusion—the only reality—and woe to him who does not. In one way lies disillusion⁷ with its pain, in the other way regret.