"I am greatly honored by your proposal," he said to Mr. Plateas; "but my
little girl is too young, and I have not thought of marriage for her
yet."

"What little girl? My suit is not for the younger sister; I ask you for
the hand of Miss--" He meant to call her by her name, but found he did
not know it. "I ask you for the hand of--your elder daughter."

Mr. Mitrophanis could not conceal his astonishment at these words; such
a thing had never happened before. He said nothing, but looked sharply
at Mr. Plateas, who felt his patience giving way.

"I must admit, Mr. Plateas," said the old gentleman at last, "that your
proposition is wholly unexpected, and comes in rather an unusual form.
Don't you think that our traditional custom in such cases is very
sensible, and that these questions are managed better by
intermediaries?"

The professor was not prepared for this. He had even imagined that the
young lady's father would fall on his neck in the open street, with
delight at having at last found the wished-for son-in-law.

"I--I thought," he stammered, "that you knew me well enough, and that
the simplest way was to speak to you myself."

"Certainly, without doubt. But if you would send one of your friends to
speak to me, and--give me time for reflection, you would oblige me
greatly."

"With pleasure! I'll send Mr. Liakos."