"Ah, madame; it would be the dearest wish of my heart to be a second
father to those two young ladies; except, indeed--" and then M.
Lacordaire stopped the flow of his speech.

"In such matters it is so much the best to be explicit at once,"
said Mrs. Thompson.

"Oh, yes; certainly! Nothing can be more wise than madame."

"And the happiness of a household depends so much on money."

"Madame!"

"Let me say a word or two, Monsieur Lacordaire. I have enough for
myself and my children; and, should I every marry again, I should
not, I hope, be felt as a burden by my husband; but it would, of
course, be my duty to know what were his circumstances before I
accepted him. Of yourself, personally, I have seen nothing that I
do not like."

"Oh, madame!"

"But as yet I know nothing of your circumstances."

M. Lacordaire, perhaps, did feel that Mrs. Thompson's prudence was
of a strong, masculine description; but he hardly liked her the less
on this account. To give him his due he was not desirous of
marrying her solely for her money's sake. He also wished for a
comfortable home, and proposed to give as much as he got; only he
had been anxious to wrap up the solid cake of this business in a