THE CONQUEST OF THEBES
(Greek passage)
ÆSCHYLUS: Prometheus.
Oh! wise was he, the first who taught
This lesson of observant thought,
That equal fates alone may dress
The bowers of nuptial happiness;
That never, where ancestral pride
Inflames, or affluence rolls its tide,
Should love's ill-omened bonds entwine
The offspring of an humbler line.
Mr. Falconer, the next morning, after the doctor had set out on his
return walk, departed from his usual practice of not seeing one of
the sisters alone, and requested that Dorothy would come to him in the
drawing-room. She appeared before him, blushing and trembling.
[Illustration: She appeared before him, blushing and trembling. 308-265]
'Sit down,' he said, 'dear Dorothy; I have something to say to you
and your sisters; but I have reasons for saying it first to you. It
is probable, at any rate possible, that I shall very soon marry, and
perhaps, in that case, you may be disposed to do the same. And I am
told, that one of the best young men I have ever known is dying for love
of you.'
'He is a good young man, that is certain,' said Dorothy; then becoming
suddenly conscious of how much she had undesignedly admitted, she
blushed deeper than before. And by way of mending the matter, she said,
'But I am not dying for love of him.'
'I daresay you are not,' said Mr. Falconer; 'you have no cause to be so,
as you are sure of him, and only your consent is wanting.'
'And yours,' said Dorothy, 'and that of my sisters; especially my elder
sisters; indeed, they ought to set the example.'
'I am sure of that,' said Mr. Falconer. 'So far, if I understand
rightly, they have followed yours. It was your lover's indefatigable
devotion that brought together suitors to them all. As to my consent,
that you shall certainly have. So the next time you see Master Harry,
send him to me.'
'He is here now,' said _Dorothy._
'Then ask him to come in,' said _Mr. Falconer._
And Dorothy retired in some confusion. But her lips could not contradict
her heart. Harry appeared.
_Mr. Falconer._ So, Harry, you have been making love in my house,
without asking my leave.
_Harry Hedgerow._ I couldn't help making love, sir; and I didn't ask
your leave, because I thought I shouldn't get it.
_Mr. Falconer._ Candid, as usual, _Harry._ But do you think Dorothy
would make a good farmer's wife?
_Harry Hedgerow._ I think, sir, she is so good, and so clever, and so
ready and willing to turn her hand to anything, that she would be a fit
wife for anybody, from a lord downwards. But it may be most for her own
happiness to keep in the class in which she was born.
_Mr. Falconer._ She is not very pretty, you know.
_Harry Hedgerow._ Not pretty, sir! If she isn't a beauty, I don't know
who is.
_Mr. Falconer._ Well, no doubt, she is a handsome girl.
_Harry Hedgerow._ Handsome is not the thing, sir. She's beautiful.
_Mr. Falconer._ Well, Harry, she is beautiful, if that will please you.
_Harry Hedgerow._ It does please me, sir. I ought to have known you were
joking when you said she was not pretty.
_Mr. Falconer._ But, you know, she has no fortune.
_Harry Hedgerow._ I don't want fortune. I want her, and nothing else,
and nobody else.
_Mr. Falconer._ But I cannot consent to her marrying without a fortune
of her own.
_Harry Hedgerow._ Why then, I'll give her one beforehand. Father has
saved some money, and she shall have that. We'll settle it on her, as
the lawyers say.
_Mr. Falconer._ You are a thoroughly good fellow, Harry, and I really
wish Dorothy joy of her choice; but that is not what I meant. She must
bring you a fortune, not take one from you; and you must not refuse it.
Harry repeated that he did not want fortune; and Mr. Falconer repeated
that, so far as depended on him, he should not have Dorothy without one.
It was not an arduous matter to bring to an amicable settlement.
The affair of Harry and Dorothy being thus satisfactorily arranged,
the other six were adjusted with little difficulty; and Mr. Falconer
returned with a light heart to the Grange, where he presented himself at
dinner on the twenty-seventh day of his probation.
He found much the same party as before; for though some of them absented
themselves for a while, they could not resist Mr. Gryll's earnest
entreaties to return. He was cordially welcomed by all, and with a
gracious smile from _Morgana._