Valentine, at first, was too much surprised to be joyous, but he thanked his uncle with something of the cordial ingenuousness and grace which had distinguished his father.
"I can have a tour now, can't I, old fellow," he said after a time to his brother; "take my wife"—here a joyous laugh—"my WIFE on the Continent; we shall go dashing about from place to place, you know, staying at hotels, and all that!"
"To be sure," said Brandon, "staying at hotels, of course, and ordering wonderful things for breakfast. I think I see you now—
"'Happy married lovers,
Phillis trifling with a plover's
Egg, while Corydon uncovers
With a grace the Sally Lun.'"
"That's the way this fellow is always making game of me," exclaimed
Valentine; "why I'm older than you were, John, when you married."
"And wild horses shall never drag the words out of me that I was too young," said John Mortimer, "whatever I may think," he continued.
"John was a great deal graver than you are," said Brandon; "besides, he knew the multiplication table."
"So do I, of course," exclaimed Valentine.
"Well," answered Brandon, "I never said you did not."