remain with him through the remainder of a life which he foresaw would
not be long.

It was in vain that Dr. Pemberton tried to rally him on the score of his
old hypochondriacal tendencies, or that Evelyn quietly remarked: "I am
sure, papa, I never saw you looking better! It is a pity to interrupt
dear Miriam now in the full tide of her studies. I am sure that _I_ am
willing to devote every moment of my time to you if needful;" or that
Mrs. Austin added: "Miriam is so well, and growing so fast, that I am
afraid to see her take on care again, for fear of a check; and now that
Mabel is partly weaned from her they are both happy to be separated;" or
that Mr. Bainrothe carelessly interpolated: "Let the child go back, my
dear Monfort, or you will spoil her again among you. She is developing
splendidly at St. Mark's, and you have twenty good years before you yet,
with your unbroken English constitution."

Not even the joy manifested by George Gaston and Mrs. and Miss
Stanbury, or bluff old Mr. Gerald, at the good news of my return, could
shake his resolution.

"Miriam shall leave me no more while life is mine," he said, "be it long
or short. When she marries, I will surrender every thing I possess, save
a stipend, into her hands, and Evelyn and Mabel and I to some extent
will be her pensioners thereafter. Until that time, matters will stand
as they do now."

"Folly, folly, Colonel Monfort! You talk like a dotard of eighty; you, a
superb-looking man yet, younger than I am, no doubt; young enough to
marry again, if the fancy took you, and head a second family."