“Your father was married long before he was that age. He used to say that it was to his early marriage that he owed his success.”
“Ah, my dear mother, but you forget he was very lucky. There are not many girls like you in the world.”
His mother smiled and shook her head.
“It’s very nice of you to say that, John, but you know it’s no answer to my question. I am really serious. I want you to get married. I want to see you happy and the father of children. My old arms ache to hold a grandchild.”
The good lady’s eyes filled with tears. John was moved.
“Dear mother, you’re the best mother in the world. I’ll tell you the truth. I have not married because the woman I love is lost to me. I met her in Europe, as I told you, and she has disappeared. I’ve done all I could do to find her, but without success. I am waiting in the hope that I may meet her again.”
“Who is she, John?”
“The most beautiful and the noblest girl in the world.”
Mrs. Morton smiled plaintively and nodded slowly several times.
“Of course, my dear, but who is she? The girl you told me about when you came back?”