"But—my dear Madge—has he asked this?"
"Eight months ago, papa."
"And you told him"—
"That I would never leave you, so long as you lived!"
----"My own dear Madge,—come to me,—kiss me! And you love him, Maggie?"
"With all my heart, sir."
----"So like your mother,—the same figure,—the same true, honest heart! It shall be as you wish, dear Madge. Only you will not leave me in my old age,—eh, Maggie?"
----"Never, father,—never."
----And there she leans upon his chair;—her arm around the old man's neck,—her other hand clasped in his,—and her eyes melting with tenderness as she gazes upon his aged face,—all radiant with joy and with hope!