Had he been a wiser and more thoughtful man, he would have carried the
simile further and remembered the fate of champagne when exposed.
However piquant and pleasing Zell's sparkle might be, it would hardly
secure success and safety for life. But in his creed a girl's first
duty was to be pretty and fascinating, and he was extremely proud of
the beauty of his daughters. It was his plan to marry them to rich men
who would maintain them in the irresponsible luxury that their mother
had enjoyed.

Circumstances seemed to justify his security. The son of a rich man,
he had also inherited a taste for business and the art of making
money. Years of prosperity had confirmed his confidence, and he looked
complacently around upon his family and talked of the future in
sanguine tones.

He was a man considerably past his prime, and his florid face and
portly form indicated that he was in the habit of doing ample justice
to the good cheer before him. Intense application to business in early
years and indulgence of appetite in later life had seriously impaired
a constitution naturally good. He reminded you of a flower fully blown
or of fruit overripe.

"Since you have permitted Zell to leave school, I suppose she must
make her debut soon," said Mrs. Allen with more animation than usual
in her tone.

"Oh, certainly," cried Zell, "on Edith's birthday, in February. We
have arranged it all, haven't we, Edith?"

"Heigho! then I am to have no part in the matter," said her father.