“Did you have no quarrel with her? Frequently young people fall out about trifles, and soon become reconciled.”
“No; we had no quarrel. She discarded me coolly and deliberately.”
“Well, my dear boy,” said Mr. Hillston, with tenderness, “it is no more than I expected.”
“Why?” asked Ernest.
“Do you not remember some weeks ago, when you told me about the affair, that you thought I did not approve your choice?”
“Yes, sir, distinctly.”
“I did not think you had made a wise selection, and as I did not congratulate you then, I now congratulate you on the happy termination of the affair.”
“You are cruel, Mr. Hillston,” said Ernest, in a tone of bitterness.
“Far from it, my boy. I know you must suffer for a while. But mark what I say: you will, no doubt, see the day when you will regard it as the best that could have happened to you. I was surprised at your choice, but as the poet says: