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’Well，dear，andwhatfrightensyou？’
continuedshe。’Areyouafraidofatitle？
Whathashedonetoalarmyou？heisneitheroldnorugly。’
Iwassilent，thoughImighthavesaid，’Heisneitheryoungnorhandsome。’
’MydearFanny，’continuedmymother，’insoberseriousnessyouhavebeenmostfortunateinengagingtheaffectionsofanoblemansuchasLordGlenfallen，youngandwealthy，withfirst-rate——yes，acknowledgedFIRST-RATEabilities，andofafamilywhoseinfluenceisnotexceededbythatofanyinIreland。OfcourseyouseetheofferinthesamelightthatIdo——indeedIthinkyouMUST。’
Thiswasutteredinnoverydubioustone。IwassomuchastonishedbythesuddennessofthewholecommunicationthatIliterallydidnotknowwhattosay。
’Youarenotinlove？’saidmymother，turningsharply，andfixingherdarkeyesuponmewithseverescrutiny。
’No，madam，’saidI，promptly；horrified，aswhatyoungladywouldnothavebeen，atsuchaquery。
’I’mgladtohearit，’saidmymother，drily。’Once，nearlytwentyyearsago，afriendofmineconsultedmeastohowheshoulddealwithadaughterwhohadmadewhattheycallalove-match——beggaredherself，anddisgracedherfamily；andIsaid，withouthesitation，takenocareforher，butcastheroff。SuchpunishmentI
awardedforanoffencecommittedagainstthereputationofafamilynotmyown；
andwhatIadvisedrespectingthechildofanother，withfullassmallcompunctionIwouldDOwithmine。Icannotconceiveanythingmoreunreasonableorintolerablethanthatthefortuneandthecharacterofafamilyshouldbemarredbytheidlecapricesofagirl。’
Shespokethiswithgreatseverity，andpausedasifsheexpectedsomeobservationfromme。
I，however，saidnothing。
’ButIneednotexplaintoyou，mydearFanny，’shecontinued，’myviewsuponthissubject；youhavealwaysknownthemwell，andIhaveneveryethadreasontobelieveyoulikely，voluntarily，tooffendme，ortoabuseorneglectanyofthoseadvantageswhichreasonanddutytellyoushouldbeimproved。Comehither，mydear；kissme，anddonotlooksofrightened。Well，now，aboutthisletter，youneednotanswerityet；
ofcourseyoumustbeallowedtimetomakeupyourmind。InthemeantimeI
willwritetohislordshiptogivehimmypermissiontovisitusatAshtown。Good-
night，mylove。’
Andthusendedoneofthemostdisagreeable，nottosayastounding，conversationsIhadeverhad。ItwouldnotbeeasytodescribeexactlywhatweremyfeelingstowardsLordGlenfallen；——
whatevermighthavebeenmymother’ssuspicions，myheartwasperfectlydisengaged——andhitherto，althoughIhadnotbeenmadeintheslightestdegreeacquaintedwithhisrealviews，Ihadlikedhimverymuch，asanagreeable，well-
informedman，whomIwasalwaysgladtomeetinsociety。Hehadservedinthenavyinearlylife，andthepolishwhichhismannersreceivedinhisafterintercoursewithcourtsandcitieshadnotservedtoobliteratethatfranknessofmannerwhichbelongsproverbiallytothesailor。
Whetherthisapparentcandourwentdeeperthantheoutwardbearing，Iwasyettolearn。However，therewasnodoubtthat，asfarasIhadseenofLordGlenfallen，hewas，thoughperhapsnotsoyoungasmighthavebeendesiredinalover，asingularlypleasingman；andwhateverfeelingunfavourabletohimhadfounditswayintomymind，arosealtogetherfromthedread，notanunreasonableone，thatconstraintmightbepractiseduponmyinclinations。Ireflected，however，thatLordGlenfallenwasawealthyman，andonehighlythoughtof；andalthoughI
couldneverexpecttolovehimintheromanticsenseoftheterm，yetIhadnodoubtbutthat，allthingsconsidered，I
mightbemorehappywithhimthanI
couldhopetobeathome。
WhennextImethimitwaswithnosmallembarrassment，histactandgoodbreeding，however，soonreassuredme，andeffectuallypreventedmyawkwardnessbeingremarkedupon。AndIhadthesatisfactionofleavingDublinforthecountrywiththefullconvictionthatnobody，noteventhosemostintimatewithme，evensuspectedthefactofLordGlenfallen’shavingmademeaformalproposal。
Thiswastomeaveryserioussubjectofself-gratulation，for，besidesmyinstinctivedreadofbecomingthetopicofthespeculationsofgossip，IfeltthatifthesituationwhichIoccupiedinrelationtohimweremadepubliclyknown，Ishouldstandcommittedinamannerwhichwouldscarcelyleavemethepowerofretraction。
TheperiodatwhichLordGlenfallenhadarrangedtovisitAshtownHousewasnowfastapproaching，anditbecamemymother’swishtoformmethoroughlytoherwill，andtoobtainmyconsenttotheproposedmarriagebeforehisarrival，sothatallthingsmightproceedsmoothly，withoutapparentoppositionorobjectionuponmypart。Whateverobjections，therefore，Ihadentertainedweretobesubdued；
whateverdispositiontoresistanceI
hadexhibitedorhadbe
