"Shall I say 'Maryanne?'" said he, putting out his hand; "or is it to be 'Miss Brown?'"
"Well, I'm sure," said she; "there's a question! If 'Miss Brown' will do for you, sir, it will do uncommon well for me."
"Call her 'Maryanne,' and have done with it," said Miss Twizzle. "I hate all such nonsense, like poison."
"George," said the old man, "take her, and may a father's blessing go along with her. We are partners in the haberdashery business, and now we shall be partners in everything." Then he rose up, as though he were going to join their hands.
"Oh, father, I know a trick worth two of that!" said Maryanne. "That's not the way we manage these things now-a-days, is it, Polly?"
"I don't know any better way," said Polly, "when Barkis is willing."
"Maryanne," said Robinson, "let bygones be bygones."
"With all my heart," said she. "All of them, if you like."
"No, not quite all, Maryanne. Those moments in which I first declared what I felt for you can never be bygones for me. I have never faltered in my love; and now, if you choose to accept my hand in the presence of your father, there it is."
"God bless you, my boy! God bless you!" said Mr. Brown.