condition the better." Sir Thomas smiled and assented. "And I want to
know whether you will object to my asking Miss Bonner to be my wife."

"Miss Bonner!" said Sir Thomas, throwing up both his hands.

"Yes, sir;--is there any objection on your part?"

Sir Thomas hardly knew how to say whether there was or was not an
objection on his part. In the first place he had made up his mind
that the other Ralph was to marry Mary,--that he would do so in spite
of that disclaimer which had been made in the first moment of the
young man's disinheritance. He, Sir Thomas, however, could have no
right to object on that score. Nor could he raise any objection on
the score of Clarissa. It did seem to him that all the young people
were at cross purposes, that Patience must have been very stupid and
Clarissa most addlepated, or else that this Ralph was abominably
false; but still, he could say nothing respecting that. No tale had
reached his ears which made it even possible for him to refer to
Clarissa. But yet he was dissatisfied with the man, and was disposed
to show it. "Perhaps I ought to tell you," said Sir Thomas, "that a
man calling himself Neefit was with me yesterday."

"Oh, yes; the breeches-maker."

"I believe he said that such was his trade. He assured me that you
had borrowed large sums of money from him."

"I do owe him some money."

"A thousand pounds, I think he said."

"Certainly as much as that."

"Not for breeches,--which I suppose would be impossible, but for
money advanced."

"Part one and part the other," said Ralph.

"And he went on to tell me that you were engaged,--to marry his
daughter."

"That is untrue."

"Were you never engaged to her?"

"I was never engaged to her, Sir Thomas."

"And it was all a lie on the part of Mr. Neefit? Was there no
foundation for it? You had told me yourself that you thought of such
a marriage."

"There is nothing to justify him in saying that I was ever engaged
to the young lady. The truth is that I did ask her and she,--refused
me."

"You did ask her?"

"I did ask her," said Ralph.

"In earnest?"

"Well; yes;--certainly in earnest. At that time I thought it the only
way to save the property. I need not tell you how wretched I was at
the time. You will remember what you yourself had said to me. It
is true that I asked her, and that I did so by agreement with her
father. She refused me,--twice. She was so good, so sensible, and so
true, that she knew she