"I should say so, Mrs. Talbot. I am in treaty for a house costing forty-five thousand dollars."
Mrs. Talbot was astonished.
"I had no idea you could afford to pay so much for a house, Solon," she said.
"My dear, I am afraid you underrate my business abilities. I haven't said anything to you about my business success, but I have been making money lately. Yes, I feel that I can afford to pay forty-five thousand dollars for a house."
"Where is the house situated?"
"In West Forty-Seventh Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. That's a fine block—a good many fashionable people live there."
"I don't know whether I shall feel at home among them."
"I mean, Mrs. Talbot, that you shall take a high place in New York society. As my wife you will be entitled to such."
"I am not ambitious in that way. I should rather be able to see Ellen often than to receive fashionable people."
"Ahem, Mrs. T. You must remember that Ellen lives in a very poor way, and it would do you harm to have it known that she is your sister."