"Mr. Fenton."

"Mr. Fenton. He has been here with me just now; and I know that he asked
you to be his wife."

"He did, uncle George."

"And you didn't refuse him, Marian?"

"Not positively, uncle George. He took me so much by surprise, you see;
and I really don't know how to refuse any one; but I think I ought to
have made him understand more clearly that I meant no."

"But why, my dear?"

"Because I am sure I don't care about him as much as I ought to care. I
like him very well, you know, and think him clever and agreeable, and all
that kind of thing."

"That will soon grow into a warmer feeling, Marian; at least I trust in
God that it will do so."

"Why, dear uncle?"

"Because I have set my heart upon this marriage. O Marian, my love, I
have never ventured to speak to you about your future--the days that must
come when I am dead and gone; and you can never know how many anxious
hours I have spent thinking of it. Such a marriage as this would secure
you happiness and prosperity in the years to come."