"My dear," continued Fanny, "why do you take such pains to convince me of what you know I have never had cause to doubt? On the contrary, since I have now such good reason to believe that the match has become equally disagreeable to both parties, I propose, in order to spare your pride the slightest wound, that you commission me to declare off for you in the most decidedly unequivocal terms, declaring in your name, that you will leave him for ever, on the very first moment that he renews the disagreeable subject." "Why no,--I think--you had better--better say nothing about it," said Sophia, with ill-disguised anxiety and evident confusion. "Why, pray?" inquired Fanny, affecting surprise. "Why--why--the fact is, it would seem----" "What would it seem?" "Seem--seem--so very ungrateful." "Ingratitude is to be sure a heinous sin," said Fanny shaking her head, and laughing incredulously. The next day, Lord Berwick received Sophia's permission to write to her father, stating his wish to become his son-in-law, and further begging my father to be present at the ceremony which, with his permission, was to take place on the following day, for the purpose of giving his daughter away, that fair lady being under age. My father was a proud Swiss, rather unpopular, and a deep mathematician. We were never in our youth either allowed to address him or speak in his presence, except in low whispers, for fear of driving a problem out of his head. He valued his sons according to the progress they made in that science. For the girls, he felt all the contempt due to those who voted plus _x_ minus _y_ a dead bore. He was remarkably handsome, with white teeth, expressive eyes, and eyebrows which used to frighten us half out of our senses. Lord Berwick, as well as many more, has often declared himself to have been much struck with that noble air for which my father was particularly distinguished. The good gentleman was of course flattered on his own account, and probably thought, with the man in Bluebeard, that,-- 'Tis a very fine thing to be father-in-law To a rich, and magnificent, three-tailed Bashaw. But I do not mean to say he did not rejoice in his daughter's welfare for his daughter's sake too, as that would be to decide harshly of any father, much less of my own. We will therefore take it for granted, that, on this day at least _monsieur mon papa se trouvait d'une forte belle humeur;_ nay, my little sisters have since informed me that, when one of them, having had the misfortune to upset a box full of playthings, which made a violent noise in the room where he was, as usual, puzzling over a problem, just as they expected little short of broken heads, and were all running into the most remote corners of the room, until of the opposite wall they seemed a part, he surprised them to the greatest possible degree, by saying, "_n'importe, petites imbéciles, viennes m'embrasser!_" Sophia was to be married at St. George's church.