ic impulse, I waited until the moment of parting
before declaring definitely my excellent intentions.

"My dear Mary," I began, turning to that admirable spinster, "you
know how our childhood was linked by a close family feeling, and
how you and Sylvia and I planned in our simple ambitions to live
together in the great world outside. We may say now that this was
childish romance, and that the caprice of time has made it an
idle fancy. For many years we have been separated, and only by a
happy chance have we been brought together. Fortune has been kind
to me. I am called a rich man, and I believe I may say without
boasting that I am far beyond the need of anxiety. But to a
degree I am a lonely man. My sister's child is my one near
relative in the world, and he is a young man with an excellent
business, able to take care of himself, and naturally engrossed
with his own occupations. You can understand that at my time of
life, alone as I am, and still young enough to appreciate the
joys of living, I have a feeling of desolation for which no
riches can compensate. Had fortune given me a daughter, like our
Phyllis here, I think no happiness could have been so great. It
has pleased me to look back upon the past, to recall the days of
our childhood, and to see in Phyllis the image of her mother. Why
can I not link the present and the future with the past? Why can
I not look on Phyllis as my own daughter, and give to her all the
father love I have learned to feel? I do not rob you either of
her love or her presence. I merely add a new joy to my life, and
know that in caring for you both and in contributing to her
happiness, and securing her against misfortune after we are taken
away, I am carrying out the pledge, however idle at the time, I
made to Sylvia."

I fancied I saw what may have been the suspicion of a tear in
Mary Eastmann's eye. It vanished as quickly as it came, and when
she spoke and thanked me for my generous offer, her voice was as
calm and her manner as collected as if I had made a casual
suggestion for attendance at a prayer meeting. She could not
deny that the opportunity was too enticing to be ignored, and
she admitted that my fatherly proposition was distinctly
advantageous. Her New England independence rather revolted at the
thought of any immediate financial assistance, which was not
needed, while her New England thrift approved a future settlement
based on family friendliness of many years' standing. O