"Pardon me, Mercy, but I do want to know how your father treats you!"
"We will not talk about him, please. He is my father!—and so far yours that you are bound to make what excuse you can for him."
"That I am bound to do, if he were no father to either of us. It is what God is always doing for us!—only he will never let us off."
"He has had no one to teach him, Alister! and has always been rich, and accustomed to have his own way! I begin to think one punishment of making money in a wrong manner is to be prosperous in it!"
"I am sure you are right! But will you be able to bear poverty,
Mercy?"
"Yes," she answered, but so carelessly that she seemed to speak without having thought.
"You do not know what poverty means!" rejoined Alister. "We may have to endure much for our people!"
"It means YOU any way, does it not? If you and poverty come together, welcome you and your friend!—I see I must confess a thing! Do you remember telling me to read Julius Caesar?"
"Yes."
"Do you remember how Portia gave herself a wound, that she might prove to her husband she was able to keep a secret?"