"Very well," said Mann. "I assure you I will bore you about it until you decide. Unfortunately I have no more unmarried daughters. But I can recommend to you a charming young woman with a portion of a hundred thousand roubles."
"A hundred thousand roubles!" cried Simon. "You had better take her, Jacob."
"Thanks for your interest in me," said Jacob coldly, when Mathilde spoke in her turn.
"My uncle and cousin are right," said she, fixing her large, black eyes on him. "You ought to marry."
"What!" cried he sadly. "You also? You are in the plot?"
"Yes; because I desire to see you tranquil and happy."
"Singular receipt," murmured Simon.
"We had better leave the subject of marriage to the managing mammas. After all, we are meddling with something that does not concern us, and some day Jacob will be claiming damages and interest for having marriage put into his head," laughed Henri.
They arose from the table, and all the men save Jacob grouped themselves together.
"What do you think of him?" asked his former guardian of Mann.