“Why, why not?” said she, with equal simplicity.
May Newt knew Hope Wayne personally, and she had also heard of her from Gabriel Bennet. Indeed, Gabriel had no secrets from May. The whole school story of his love had been told to her, and she shared the young man’s feeling for the woman who, as a girl, had so utterly enthralled his imagination. But Gabriel’s story of school life also included her brother Abel, and what she heard of the boy agreed with what she knew and felt of the man.
“I presume,” said May Newt, loftily, “that Hope Wayne would be as likely to marry Aaron Burr as Abel Newt.”
Mrs. Dagon looked at her kindly, and with amused admiration.
“Well, May, at any rate I congratulate Gabriel Bennet.”
May’s lofty look drooped.
“And if”—continued Mrs. Dagon—“if it was so wonderfully impossible that Abel should marry Hope Wayne, why might he not have married Grace Plumer, or some other rich girl? I’m sure I don’t care who. It was evidently the only thing for him, whatever it may be for other people. When you are of my age, May, you will rate things differently. Well-bred men and women in society ought to be able to marry any body. Society isn’t heaven, and it’s silly to behave as if it were. Your romance is very pretty, dear; we all have it when we are young, as we have the measles and the whooping-cough. But we get robust constitutions, my dear,” said the old lady, smiling kindly, “when we have been through all that business. When you and Gabriel have half a dozen children, and your girls grow up to be married, you’ll understand all about it. I suppose you know about Mellish Whitloe and Laura Magot, don’t you, dear?”
May shook her head negatively.
“Well, they are people who were wise early. Just after they were married he said to her, ‘Laura, I see that you are fond of this new dance which is coming in; you like to waltz.’ ‘Yes, I do,’ said she. ‘Well, I don’t like it, and I don’t want you to waltz.’ She pouted and cried, and called him a tyrant. He hummed Yankee Doodle. ‘I will waltz,’ said she at length. ‘Very well, my dear,’ he answered. ‘I’ll make a bargain with you. If you waltz, I’ll get drunk.’ You see it works perfectly. They respect each other, and each does as the other wishes. I hope you’ll be as wise with Gabriel, my dear.”
“Aunt, I hope I shall never be as old as you are,” said May, quietly. “I’d rather die.”