VI.
The count must have risen early that day. Although it was not yet teno'clock, he was already brilliant, rouged, dyed, and frizzed. Of courseall these results had not been the work of an hour. As he entered, hedrew a long breath, and said,--
"Ah! You live pretty high up, my dear Daniel."
Poor fellow! He forgot that he was playing the young man. But herecalled himself at once, and added, full of vivacity,--
"Not that I complain of it; oh, no! A few stories to climb--what is thatto me?"
At the same time he stretched out his leg, and caressed his calf, as ifto exhibit its vigor and its suppleness. In the meantime, Daniel, fullof respect for his future father-in-law, had drawn forward his easiestarm-chair. The count took it, and in an airy manner, which contrastedill with his evident embarrassment, he said,--
"I am sure, my dear Daniel, you must be very much surprised and puzzledto see me here; are you not?"
"I confess, sir, I am. If you wished to speak to me, you had only todrop me a line, and I should have waited upon you at once."
"I am sure you would! But that is not necessary. In fact, I have nothingto say to you. I should not have come to see you, if I had not missed anappointment. I was to meet one of my fellow members of the assembly, andhe did not come to the place where we were to meet. On my return home,I happened to pass your house; and I said to myself, 'Why not go up andsee my sailor friend? I might ask him what he thinks of a certain younglady to whom he had, last night, the honor of being presented.'"
Now or never was the favorable moment for following Maxime's advice;hence Daniel, instead of replying, simply smiled as pleasantly as hecould.
But that did not satisfy the count; so he repeated the question moredirectly, and said,--
"Come, tell us frankly, what do you think of Miss Brandon?"
"She is one of the greatest beauties I have ever seen in my life."
Count Ville-Handry's eyes beamed with delight and with pride as he heardthese words. He exclaimed,--
"Say she is the greatest beauty, the most marvellous and transcendentbeauty, you ever saw. And that, M. Daniel Champcey, is her smallestattraction. When she opens her lips, the charms of her mind, beauty andher mind, and remember her admirable ingenuousness, her naive freshness,and all the treasures of her chaste and pure soul."
This excessive, almost idiotic admiration, this implicit, absurd faithin his beloved, gave the painted face of the count a strange, almostecstatic expression. He said to himself, but loud enough to be heard,--
"And to think that chance alone has led me to meet this angel!"
A sudden start, involuntary on the part of Daniel, seemed to disturbhim; for he resumed his speech, laying great stress upon his words,--
"Yes, chance alone; and I can prove it to you."
He settled down in his chair like a man who is going to speak for somelength of time; and, in that emphatic manner which so well expressed thehigh opinion he had of himself, he continued,--
"You know, my friend, how deeply I was affected by the death of theCountess Ville-Handry. It is true she was not exactly the companion astatesman of my rank would have chosen. Her whole capacity rarely rosebeyond the effort to distinguish a ball-dress from a dinner-dress.But she was a good woman, attentive, discreet, and devoted to me; anexcellent manager, economical, and yet always sure to do honor to thehigh reputation of my house."
Thus, in all sincerity, the count spoke of her who had literally madehim, and who, for sixteen long years, had galvanized his empty head.
"In short," he continued, "the loss of my wife so completely upset me,that I lost all taste for the occupations which had so far been dearto me; and I set about to find distractions elsewhere. Soon after I hadgotten into the habit of going frequently to my club, I fell in withM. Thomas Elgin, and, although we never became intimate, we alwaysexchanged a friendly greeting, and occasionally a cigar.
"Sir Thorn, as they call him, is an excellent horseman, you know, andused to ride out every morning at an early hour; and as the physicianshad recommended to me horseback exercise, and as I like it, because Iexcel in riding, as in every thing else, we often met in the Bois deBoulogne. We wished each other good-day; and sometimes we galloped alittle while side by side. I am rather reserved; but Sir Thorn is evenmore so, and thus it did not seem that our acquaintance was ever toripen into any thing better, till an accident brought us together.
"One morning we were returning slowly from a long ride, when Sir Thorn'smare, a foolish brute, suddenly shied, and jumped so high, that he wasthrown. I jumped down instantly to help him up again; but he could notrise. You know nothing ordinarily hurts these Americans. But itseems, as we found out afterwards, that he had sprained an ankle, anddislocated a knee. There was no one near the place; and I began to beseriously embarrassed, when fortunately two soldiers appeared. I calledto them, and sent one on my horse to the nearest hack-stand to bring acarriage. As soon as it came, we raised the invalid, and put him inas well as we could; I got on the box to show the man the way to SirThorn's house. When we arrived there, I rang the bell, and toldthe servants to come down to their master. They got him, with somedifficulty, out of the hack; and there they were, carrying him painfullyup the stairs, and he groaning feebly, for he suffered terribly.
"I was going up before them; and, as I reached the second story, a doorsuddenly opened, and a young girl was standing right before me.
"She was evidently dressing, when the noise which we made startledher; and she came running out. She had only taken time to throw a loosewrapper around her shoulders; and her dishevelled hair streamed out fromunder a kind of coquettish morning-cap.
"When she saw her kinsman in the arms of the servants, she imagined hewas dangerously wounded, perhaps even--She turned as pale as death, and,uttering a loud cry, she tottered.
"She would have fallen down the steps, head foremost, if I had notcaught her in my arms. She had fainted. And there I held her, leaningon my shoulder, so close that I became aware of the warmth of her lovelybody, and actually felt her heart beat against mine. Her cap had becomeunfastened; and her hair fell in golden floods all over me, and down tothe floor. But all this lasted only a few seconds.
"When she recovered, and found herself in the arms of a man, she rosewith an air of extreme distress, and, slipping away, disappeared in herroom."
At the mere description of this scene, the count turned pale underhis rouge; and his voice forsook him. Nor did he in any way attempt toconceal his emotion.
"I am a poor old fellow," he said; "and between you and me, my dearDaniel, I will tell you that the women--well--the women have notbeen--exactly cruel to me. In fact, I thought I had outlived all theemotions which they can possibly give us.
"Well, I was mistaken. Never in my life, I assure you, have I felt sucha deep sensation as when Miss Brandon was lying in my arms."
While saying this, he had pulled out his handkerchief, saturated witha strong perfume, and was wiping his forehead, though very gently, andwith infinite precautions, so as not to spoil the artistic work of hisvalet.
"You will know Miss Brandon," he went on, "I hope soon. Once having seenher, one wants to see her again. I was lucky enough to have a pretextfor coming again; and the very next day I was at her door, inquiringafter M. Thomas Elgin. They showed me into the room of that excellentgentleman, where I found him stretched out on an invalid's chair, withhis legs all bandaged up. By his side sat a venerable lady, to whom hepresented me, and who was no other than Mrs. Brian.
"They received me very kindly, although with some little reserve underall their politeness; but I staid and staid in vain beyond the propertime; Miss Sarah did not appear.
"Nor did I see her upon subsequent occasions, when I repeated my visits,until at last I came to the conclusion that she avoided me purposely.
"Upon my word, I believed it. But one day Sir Thorn, who was improvingvery rapidly, expressed a desire to walk out a few steps in the ChampsElysees. I offered him my arm; he a
ccepted it; and, when we came back,he asked me if I would be kind enough to take pot-luck with him."
However important these communications were for Daniel, he was for sometime already listening but very inattentively to the count's recital,for he had heard a strange, faint noise, which he could not by anymeans explain to himself. At last, looking all around, he discovered thecause.
The door to his bedroom, which he was sure he had closed himself,was now standing partly open. No doubt M. de Brevan, weary of hisconfinement and excited by curiosity, had chosen this way to see andto listen. Of all this, however, Count Ville-Handry saw nothing, andsuspected nothing.
"Thus," he continued, "I was at last to see Miss Sarah again. Upon myword, I was less excited, I think, the day I made my first speech. Butyou know I have some power over myself; and I had recovered my calmness,when Sir Thorn confessed to me that he would have invited me long since,but for the fear of offending his young relative, who had declared shewould never meet me again. I was grieved, and asked how I had offendedher. And then Sir Thorn, with that marvellous composure which neverleaves him, said, 'It is not you she blames, but herself, on account ofthat ridiculous scene the other day.'
"Do you hear, Daniel, he called that adorable scene which I have justdescribed to you, ridiculous! It is only Americans who can commit suchabsurdities.
"I have since found out that they had almost to force Miss Brandon toreceive me; but she had tact enough not to let me see it, when I wasformally presented to her, just before going to dinner. It is true, sheblushed deeply; but she took my hand with the utmost cordiality, and cutme short when I was trying to pay her some compliment, saying,--
"'You are Thorn's friend; I am sure we shall be friends also.'
"Ah, Daniel! you admired Miss Brandon at the theatre; but you oughtto see her at her house. Abroad she sacrifices herself in order to payproper regard to the world; but at home she can venture to be herself.
"We soon became friends, as she had foretold, so soon, in fact, thatI was quite surprised when I found her addressing me like an oldacquaintance. I soon discovered how that came about.
"Our young girls here in France, my dear Daniel, are charming, no doubt,but generally ill taught, frivolous, and caring for nothing but balls,novels, or dress. The Americans are very different. Their seriousminds are occupied with the same subjects which fill their parents'minds,--with politics, industry, discussions in the assembly,discoveries in science, &c. A man like myself, known abroad and athome during a long political career of some distinction, could not be astranger to Miss Brandon. My earnestness in defending those causes whichI considered just had often filled her with enthusiasm. Deeply movedby my speeches, which she was in the habit of reading, she had oftenthought of the speaker. I think I can hear her now say with thatbeautiful voice of hers, which has the clear ring of pure crystal,--
"'Oh, yes! I knew you, count; I knew you long ago. And there was many aday when I wished I were a friend of yours, so that I might say to you,"Well done, sir! what you are doing is grand, is noble!"'
"And that was true; for she remembered a number of passages from myspeeches, even from such as I had forgotten myself; and she alwaysquoted them literally. At times, I was amazed at some peculiarly boldthoughts which she uttered; and, when I complimented her upon them, shebroke out in loud laughter, and said,--
"'Why, count, these are your own ideas; I got them from you. You said soon such and such an occasion.'
"And when I looked at night, after my return, into my papers, toascertain the fact, I found almost always that Miss Brandon had beenright. Need I tell you after that, that I soon became an almost dailyvisitor at the house in Circus Street? Surely you take it for granted.
"But what I must tell you is, that I found there the most perfecthappiness, and the purest that I have ever known upon earth. I wasfilled with respect and with admiration, when I looked at their rigidmorality, united with the heartiest cheerfulness. There I enjoyed myhappiest hours, between Mrs. Brian, the Puritan lady, so strict forherself, so indulgent for others; and Thomas Elgin, the noblest and bestof men, who conceals under an appearance of icy coldness the warmest andkindest of hearts."
What was Count Ville-Handry aiming at? or had he no aim at all?
Had he come merely to confide to Daniel the amazing romance of his love?Or did he simply yield to the natural desire of all lovers, to pour outthe exuberance of their feelings, and to talk of their love, even whenthey know that their indiscretion may be fatal to their success?
Daniel put these questions to himself; but the count did not leave himtime to reflect, and to answer them.
After a short pause, he seemed to rouse himself, and said, suddenlychanging his tone,--
"I guess what you think, my dear Daniel. You say to yourself, 'CountVille-Handry was in love.' Well, I assure you you are mistaken."
Daniel started from his chair; and, overcome by amazement, heexclaimed,--
"Can it be possible?"
"Exactly so; I give you my word of honor. The feelings which attractedme toward Miss Brandon were the same that bound me to my daughter. Butas I am a shrewd observer, and have some knowledge of the human heart,I could not help being struck by a change in Miss Brandon's face, andespecially in her manner. After having treated me with the greatestfreedom and familiarity, she had suddenly become reserved, and almostcold. It was evident to me that she was embarrassed in my presence. Ourconstant intercourse, so far from reassuring her, seemed to frightenher. You may guess how I interpreted this change, my dear Daniel.
"But, as I have never been a conceited man, I thought I might bemistaken. I devoted myself, therefore, to more careful observation;and I soon became aware, that, if I loved Miss Brandon only with theaffection of a father, I had succeeded in inspiring her with a moretender sentiment."
In any other person, this senile self-conceit would have appearedintensely absurd to Daniel; in his Henrietta's father, it painedhim deeply. The count actually noticed his downcast look, and,misinterpreting it, asked him,--
"Could you doubt what I say?"
"Oh, no, sir!"
"Very well, then. I can assure you, at all events, that this discoverytroubled me not a little. I was so surprised by it, that for three daysI could neither think of it coolly, nor decide on what I ought to do.Still it was necessary I should make up my mind. I did not for a momentthink of abusing the confidence of this innocent child; and yet I knew,I felt it, she was absolutely in my power. But no! It would have beeninfamous in me to repay the hospitality of excellent Mrs. Brian, and thekindness of noble M. Elgin, with such ingratitude. On the other hand,must I necessarily deny myself my pleasant visits at the house in CircusStreet, and break with friends who were so dear to me? I thought ofthat, also; but I had not the courage to do so."
He hesitated for a moment, trying to read in Daniel's eyes his realopinion. After a while, he said very gravely,--
"It was then only, that the idea of marrying her occurred to me."
Daniel had been expecting the fatal word; thus, however heavy the blowwas, it found him prepared. He remained immovable.
This indifference seemed to surprise the count; for he uttered anexpression of discontent, and curtly repeated,--
"Yes, I thought of marrying her. You will say, 'That was a seriousmatter.' I know that only too well; and therefore I did not decidethe question in a hurry, but weighed the reasons for and against verycarefully. I am not one of those weak men, you know, I am sure, who caneasily be hoodwinked, and who fancy they alone possess the secret ofperennial youth. No, no, I know myself, and am fully aware, better thananybody else, that I am approaching maturer years.
"This was, in fact, the first objection that arose in my mind. But thenI answered it triumphantly by the fact that age is not a matter to bedecided by the certificate of baptism, but that we are just as old as weappear to be. Now, thanks to an exceptionally sober and peaceful life,of which forty years were spent in the country, to an iron constitution,and to the extreme care I ha
ve always taken of my health, I possessa--what shall I say?--a vigor which many young men might envy, who canhardly drag one foot after the other."
He rose as he said this, threw out his chest, straightened his back,and stretched out his well-shaped leg. Then, when he thought Daniel hadsufficiently admired him, he continued,--
"Now, what of Miss Brandon? You think, perhaps, she is still in herteens? Far from that! She is at least twenty-five, my dear friend; and,for a woman, twenty-five years are--ah, ah!"
He smiled ironically, as if to say that to him a woman of twenty-fiveappeared an old, a very old woman. Then he went on,--
"Besides, I know how serious her disposition is, and her eminent goodsense. You may rely upon me, when I tell you I have studied her. Athousand trifles, of no weight in appearance, and unnoticed by herselfin all probability, have told me that she abhors very young men. She haslearnt to appreciate the value of young husbands of thirty, who are allfire and flame in the honeymoon, and who, six months later, wearied withpure and tranquil happiness, seek their delights elsewhere. It is notonly of late that I have found out how truly she values what is, afterall, most desirable in this world,--a great name worthily borne by atrue man, and a reputation that would shed new radiance upon her. Howoften have I heard her say to Mrs. Brian, 'Above all, aunt, I want tobe proud of my husband; I want to see everybody's eye sparkle withadmiration and envy as soon as I mention his name, which will havebecome mine also; I want people to whisper around me, "Ah, how happy sheis to be loved by such a man!"'"
He shook his head gravely, and said in a solemn tone,--
"I examined myself, Daniel, and found that I answered all of MissBrandon's expectations; and the result of my meditations was, that Iwould be a madman to allow such happiness to escape me, and that I wasbound to risk every thing. I made up my mind, therefore, firmly, andwent to M. Elgin in order to make him aware of my intentions. I cannotdescribe to you the amazement of that worthy gentleman.
"'You are joking,' he said at first, 'and that pains me deeply.'
"But, when he saw that I had never in my life spoken more seriously, he,who is usually so phlegmatic, became perfectly furious. As if I wouldhave come to him, if, by some impossible accident, I should havebeen unhappy in my choice! But I fell from the clouds when he told meoutright that he meant to do all he could do to prevent such a match.Nor would he give up his purpose, say what I could; and I had to useall my skill to make him change his mind. At last, after more than twohours' discussion, all that I could obtain from him was the promisethat he would remain neutral, and that he would leave to Mrs. Brian theresponsibility of refusing or accepting my offer."
He laughed, this good Count Ville-Handry, he laughed heartily, no doubtrecalling his discussion with Sir Thorn, and his triumphant skill.
"So," he resumed, "I went to Mrs. Brian. Ah! she did not mince matters.At the first word, she called me--God forgive her!--an old fool, andplainly told me that I must never show myself again in Circus Street.
"I insisted; but in vain. She would not even listen to me, the oldPuritan; and, when I became pressing, she dropped me a solemn curtsey,and left me alone in the room, looking foolish enough, I am sure.
"For the time, I had nothing to do but to go away. I did so, hoping thather interview with her niece might induce her to change her mind. Not atall. The next morning, when I called at the house, the servants saidSir Thorn was out, and Mrs. Brian and Miss Brandon had just left forFontainebleau. The day after, the same result; and for a whole week thedoors remained closed.
"I was becoming restless, when a commissionaire, one morning, broughtme a letter. It was Miss Brandon who wrote. She asked me to be that veryday, at four o'clock, in the Bois de Boulogne, near the waterfalls;that she would ride out in the afternoon with Sir Thorn; that she wouldescape from him, and meet me.
"As a matter of course, I was punctual; and it was well I was so, for,a few minutes after I got there, I saw her--or rather I felt her--comingtowards me, riding at full speed. When she reached me, she stoppedsuddenly, and, jumping from her horse, said to me,--
"'They watch me so jealously, that I could not write to you till to-day.I am deeply wounded by this want of confidence, and I do not think I canendure it any longer. Here I am, carry me off, let us go!'
"Never, O Daniel! never have I seen her look more marvellously beautifulthan she looked at that moment. She was flushed with excitement and therapid ride; her eyes shone with courage and passion; her lips trembled;and then she said again,--
"'I know I am ruining myself; and you yourself--you will probablydespise me. But never mind! Let us be gone!'"
He paused, overcome with excitement; but, soon recovering, hecontinued,--
"To hear a beautiful woman tell you that! Ah, Daniel! that is anexperience which alone is worth a man's whole life. And yet I had thecourage, mad as I felt I was becoming, to speak to her words of calmreason. Yes, I had the sublime courage, and the almost fortuitouscontrol over myself, to conjure her to retreat into her house.
"She began to weep, and accused me of indifference.
"But I had discovered a way out of the difficulty, and said to her,--
"'Sarah, go home. Write to me what you have just told me, and I am sureI shall compel your friends to grant me your hand.'
"This she did.
"And what I had foreseen came to pass. In the face of such evidence ofwhat they called our madness, Sir Thorn and Mrs. Brian dared not opposeour plans any longer. After some little hesitations, and imposingcertain honorable conditions, they said to Sarah and myself,--
"'You will have it so. Go, then, and get married.'"
This is what Count Ville-Handry called chance, a "blessed chance," ashe said, utterly unmindful of the whole chain of circumstances which hehimself related. From the accident that had befallen M. Elgin, and thefainting-fit of Miss Brandon, to the meeting in the Bois de Boulogneand the proposed runaway-match, all seemed to him perfectly natural andsimple,--even the sudden enthusiasm of a young, frivolous woman for hispolitical opinions, and the learning by heart of his speeches.
Daniel was amazed. That a man like the count should be so perfectlyblind to the intrigue that was going on around him, seemed to himincomprehensible. The count, however, was not so blind, that he shouldnot have at least suspected the nature of Daniel's feelings.
"What are you thinking of?" he asked. "Come, let us hear your opinion.Tell us frankly that you suspect Miss Brandon, and accuse her of tryingto catch me in her snares, or, at least, of having selfish views."
"I do not say so," stammered Daniel.
"No, but you think so; and that is worse. Well, come; I think I canconvince you of your mistake. What do you think Miss Brandon would gainby marrying me? A fortune, you say. I have only one word in reply; butthat is sufficient; Miss Brandon is richer than I am."
How, and at what price, Miss Brandon had managed to possess herself ofsuch a fortune, Daniel knew but too well from Maxime's account; hence hecould not suppress a nervous shudder, which the count noticed, and whichirritated him.
"Yes, richer than I am," he repeated. "The oil-wells which she hasinherited from her father bring her in, bad years and good years, fromthirty to forty thousand dollars a year, and that in spite of theirbeing sadly mismanaged. If they were well managed, they would produce,three, four, or five times as much, or even more. Sir Thorn has provedto me that they are an almost inexhaustible mine of wealth. If petroleumwas not fabulously profitable, how would you account for the oil-feverwith which these cool, calculating Americans have suddenly been seized,and which has made more millionaires than the gold-fever in Californiaand the Territories? Ah! there is something to be made there yet, andsomething grand, if one could dispose of a large capital."
He became excited, and forgot himself; but he soon checked himself. Hehad evidently been on the point of letting a secret leak out. After afew moments, he continued more calmly,--
"But enough of that. I trust your suspicions are removed. Next youmay tell me th
at Miss Brandon takes me because she can do no better.Mistaken again, my friend. At this very moment she is called upon tochoose between me and a much younger man than I am, whose fortune,moreover, is larger than mine,--Mr. Wilkie Gordon."
How did it come about that Count Ville-Handry seemed to appeal toDaniel, and to plead his cause before him? Daniel did not even thinkof asking himself that question; his mind was in a state of utterconfusion. Still, as the count insisted on having his opinion, as heurged him, and repeatedly asked, "Well, do you see any other objection?"he forgot at last his friend's prudent warning, and said in a troubledvoice,--
"No doubt, count, you know Miss Brandon's family?"
"Certainly! Do you think I would buy a cat in a bag? Her excellentfather was a model of honesty."
"And--her previous life?"
The count started from his chair, and, casting a savage glance atDaniel, said,--
"Oh, oh! I see one of those rascally slanderers, who have tried totarnish the honor of the noblest and chastest of all women, has alreadybeen at work here, anticipating my communication to you, and repeatingthose infamous calumnies. You must give me the name of the scoundrel."
Unconsciously, almost, Daniel turned towards the door, behind whichM. de Brevan was listening. Perhaps he expected him to come forth; butMaxime did not stir.
"Sarah's previous life!" continued the count. "I know every hour of it;and I can answer for it as for my own. The darling! Before consentingto be mine, she insisted upon my knowing every thing, yes, every thing,without reserve or boastfulness; and I know what she has suffered. Didthey not actually say she had been the accomplice of a wretched thief, acashier of some bank, who had become a defaulter? Did they not say thatshe had driven a foolish young man, a gambler, to commit suicide; andthat she had watched, unmoved, the tortures of his agony? Ah! youhave only to look at Miss Brandon to know that these vile stories arewretched inventions of malicious enemies and rivals. And look here,Daniel; you may believe me; whenever you see people calumniate a manor a woman, you may rest assured that that man or woman has, somehowor other, wounded or humiliated some vulgar person, some mean, enviousfool, who cannot endure his or her superiority in point of fortune,rank, or beauty and talent."
He had actually recovered his youthful energy in thus defending hisbeloved. His eye brightened up; his voice became strong, and hisgestures animated.
"But no more of that painful topic," he said: "let us talk seriously."
He rose, and leaning on the mantelpiece, so as to face Daniel, hesaid,--
"I told you, my dear Daniel, that Sir Thorn and Mrs. Brian insisted uponcertain conditions before they consented to our marriage. One is, thatMiss Brandon is to be received by my relations as she deserves tobe, not only respectfully, but affectionately, even tenderly. As torelations, there is not any. I have some remote cousins, who, havingnothing to expect from me when I die, do not trouble themselves any moreabout me than I trouble myself about them. But I have a daughter; andthere is the danger. I know she is distressed at the idea of my marryingagain. She cannot bear the mere idea that another woman is to take theplace of her mother, to bear her name, and to rule in my house."
Daniel began at last to know what he had to understand by thatunsuccessful appointment which had procured him the pleasure of a visitfrom Count Ville-Handry.
"Now," continued the latter, "I know my daughter. She is her mother overagain, weak, but obstinate beyond endurance. If she has taken it intoher head to receive Miss Brandon uncivilly, she will do so, in spite ofall she has promised me, and she will make a terrible scene of it.And if Miss Brandon consents, in spite of all, to go on, my house willbecome a hell to me, and my wife will suffer terribly. Now the questionis, whether I have sufficient influence over Henrietta to bring her toreason. I think not. But this influence which I have not--a very niceyoung man may have it; and that man is you."
Daniel had turned red. It was for the first time that the count spoke soclearly. He went on,--
"I have never disapproved of my poor wife's plans; and the proof is,that I have allowed you to pay your attentions to my daughter. But now Imake this condition: if my daughter is to Miss Brandon what she oughtto be to her, a tender and devoted sister, then, six months after mywedding, there shall be another wedding at my house."
Daniel was about to speak; but he stopped him, saying,--
"No, not a word! I have shown you the wisdom of my decision, and you mayact accordingly."
He had already put on his hat and opened the door, when he added,--
"Ah! one word more. Miss Brandon has asked me to present you to herto-night. She wants to speak to you. Come and dine with me; and afterdinner we will go to Circus Street. Now, pray think of what I have toldyou, and good-by!"