"Love is such a strong word, my dear."
"It is not half strong enough," said Emily, pressing her two hands together. "But you do, Mamma?"
"I think he is very agreeable, certainly."
"And handsome?—only that goes for nothing."
"Yes, he is a fine-looking man."
"And clever? I don't know how it is; let there be who there may in the room, he is always the best talker."
"He knows how to talk, certainly."
"And, Mamma, don't you think that there is a something,—I don't know what,—something not at all like other men about him that compels one to love him? Oh, Mamma, do say something nice to me! To me he is everything that a man should be."
"I wish he were, my dear."
"As for the sort of life he has been leading, spending more money than he ought, and all that kind of thing, he has promised to reform it altogether; and he is doing it now. At any rate, you must admit, Mamma, that he is not false."