“Enough has been said, Mr. Bulstrode; I am no wrangler, to quarrel with a shadow; and, I trust, not in the least, that most contemptible of all human beings, a social bully, to be on all occasions menacing the sword or the pistol. Such men usually _do_ nothing, when matters come to a crisis. Even when they fight, they fight bunglingly, and innocently.” “You are right, Littlepage, and I honour your sentiments. I have remarked that the most expert swordsman with his tongue, and the deadest shot at a shingle, are commonly as innocent as lambs of the shedding of blood on the ground. They can sometimes screw themselves up to _meet_ an adversary, but it exceeds their powers to use their weapons properly, when it comes to serious work. The swaggerer is ever a coward at heart, however well he may wear a mask for a time. But enough of this.--We understand each other, and are to remain friends, under all circumstances. May I question further?” “_Ask_ what you please, Bulstrode--I shall answer, or not, at my own discretion.” “Then, permit me to inquire, if Major Littlepage has authorized you to offer proper settlements?” “I am authorized to offer nothing.--Nor is it usual for the husband to make settlements on his wife, in these colonies, further than what the law does for her, in favour of her own. The father, sometimes, has a care for the third generation. I should expect Herman Mordaunt to settle _his_ estate on his daughter, and her rightful heirs, let her marry whom she may.” “Ay, that is a very American notion; and one on which Herman Mordaunt, who remembers his extraction, will be little likely to act. Well, Corny, we are rivals, as it would seem; but that is no reason we should not remain friends. We understand each other--though, perhaps, I ought to tell you all.” “I should be glad to know _all_, Mr. Bulstrode; and can meet my fate, I hope, like a man. Whatever it may cost me, if Anneke prefer another, her happiness will be dearer to me than my own.” “Yes, my dear fellow, we all say and think so at one-and-twenty; which is about your age, I believe. At _two_-and-twenty, we begin to see that our own happiness has an equal claim on us; and, at _three_-and-twenty, we even give it the preference. However, I will be just, if I am selfish. I have no reason to believe Anne Mordaunt does prefer me; though my _perhaps_ is not altogether without a meaning, either.” “In which case, I may possibly be permitted to know to what it refers?”