“Now, Mary, don't get into a tantrum; it is best for us to be frank. And I say frankly that you never did a better thing in your life than when you took this girl into your house, if my judgment is worth anything. My advice is, send her away for a time--for a year or two, say. She is young, and would be better for a little more teaching. There are poor gentlefolks all over the country who are only too glad to take a girl when they can get one, and give her a pleasant home and instruction for a moderate sum. Find out some such place, and give her a year of it at least; and then if you should have her back she would be more of a companion for you, and, if not, she would be better able to earn her own living. Take my advice, Mary, and finish a good work properly.” “A good work! You have nearly spoilt the effect of everything you said by that word. I never have done and never will do good works. It is not my nature, Tom. What I have done for Fan is purely from selfish motives. The fact is I fell in love with the girl, and my reward is in being loved by her and seeing her happy. It would be ridiculous to call that benevolence.” He smiled and shook his head. “You can abuse yourself if you like, Mary; we came from Dissenters, and that's a fashion of theirs--” “Cant and hypocrisy is a fashion of theirs, if you like,” she interrupted. “You are not going the right way about it if you wish me to pay any attention to your advice.” “Come, Mary, don't let us quarrel. I'll agree with you that we are all a lot of selfish beggars; and I'll even confess that I have a selfish motive in advising you to send the girl away to the country for a time.” “What is your motive?” she asked. “Well, I hate going slap-dash into the middle of a thing without any preface; I like to approach it in my own way.” “Yes, I know; _your_ way of approaching a subject is to walk in a circle round it. But please dash into the middle of it for once.” “Well, then, to tell you the plain truth, I am beginning to think that money-getting is not the only thing in life--” “What a discovery for a Manchester man to make! The millennium must have dawned at last on your smoky old town!” He laughed at her words, but refused to go on with the subject. “I was only teasing you a little,” he said. “It gladdens me even to see you put yourself in a temper, Mary--it brings back old times when we were always such good friends, and sometimes had such grand quarrels.” Mary also laughed, and rang the bell for afternoon tea. She was curious to hear about the “selfish motive,” but remembered the family failing, and forbore to press him.