"Yes, till I met you."

"Oh! Mr. Romaine," said Jeanette blushing and dropping her eyes.

"Why not? I think I have found in your society an ample compensation for
the loss of Miss Gordon."

"But I think Belle is better than I am. I sometimes wish I was half so
good."

"You are good enough for me; Belle is very good, but somehow her
goodness makes a fellow uncomfortable. She is what I call distressingly
good; one doesn't want to be treated like a wild beast in a menagerie,
and to be every now and then stirred up with a long stick."

"What a comparison!"

"Well it is a fact; when a fellow's been busy all day pouring over Coke
and Blackstone, or casting up wearisome rows of figures, and seeks a
young lady's society in the evening, he wants to enjoy himself, to bathe
in the sunshine of her smiles, and not to be lectured about his
shortcomings. I tell you, Jeanette, it comes hard on a fellow."

"You want some one to smooth the wrinkles out of the brow of care, and
not to add fresh ones."

"Yes, and I hope it will be my fortune to have a fair soft hand like
his," said Mr. Romaine, slightly pressing Jeanette's hand to perform the
welcome and agreeable task.