"Is it possible!" exclaimed her niece, amazed beyond measure. How could she, worried as she was by an excess of suitors, guess the extraordinary position of a woman who never had one? and aunt Dorcas had been assuredly pretty, and still was very comely. "My dear aunt," she cried again, after a silence of thought on both sides. "It must have been your own fault. Oh! pray, endeavour to induce Sylvia to seek a husband for herself, and leave me alone; or do make her busy herself for uncle, and then you and I shall be at peace. I shouldn't like _you_ to marry. I'm very selfish, dear aunt; but I should be so much afraid of losing your love," and she fondly kissed her cheek. "I never shall now, dear Minnie; but when you marry, you will love another better than me--I shall only be your aunt, and so it should be." "Do you know," answered her niece, fixing her sweet eyes upon her, "I often think I never shall marry; I have heard so much about it, that the subject has become quite distasteful to me." "Oh! you will change your mind, Minnie, when the one you can, and _should_ love, comes." "What do you mean, aunt, by should love?" "There are those in the world we ought to guard our affections against; their loss might bring misery." "Whom are they? would--would, now, supposing an impossible case--would Mr. Tremenhere, if he loved me, be such a one?" "Why do you think of him, child?" and her aunt looked scrutinizingly in her face. "Oh, because," answered the blushing Minnie, "he is the first stranger I have met likely to enter into my ideas of such a case: all the constant visitors here have the consent of some one of my relatives,--the mere acquaintances I meet when we go any where, have nothing against them,--I daresay, if I liked one of them, every one of you would, though perhaps reluctantly, say 'yes;' but Mr. Tremenhere--he is different, poor fellow! How I pity him! I do indeed, aunt, and he is so agreeable." The aunt, unworldly wise as she was, had fallen into a reverie; before she aroused herself to reply, the sound of carriage-wheels without drew her attention to the window. Minnie was the first there,--"Whom have we here? two ladies!" Her aunt was beside her. "Why Minnie, these are your aunts, Lady Ripley and Dora!" exclaimed she.