"That's it, my dear. You know what a funny, bright, mischievous boy Harold is--even a little deliciously wild at times--doubtless you read of his marriage when it occurred--how these newspapers do relish anything of the sort--she was a theatrical young woman--what they call a 'show girl,' I believe. Humph!--with reason, I _must_ say! Of all the egregious and inveterate showiness! My dear, she is positively a creature! Oh, if they'd only invent a monocle that would let a young man pierce the glamour of the footlights. I pledge you my word, she's--but never mind that! Harold was a thoughtless, restless boy--not bad, you know, but heedless. Why, he was quite the same about business. He began to speculate, and of course, being brother Cyrus's nephew, his advantage was considerable. But he suddenly declared he wouldn't be a broker any more--and you'd never guess his absurd reason: simply because some stock he held or didn't hold went up or down or something on a rumour in the street that Mr. Russell Sage was extremely ill! He said that this brought him to his senses. He says to me, 'Mater, I've not met Mr. Sage, you know, but from what I hear of him it would be irrational to place myself in a position where I should have to experience emotion of any sort at news of the old gentleman's taking-off. An event so agreeable to the natural order of God's providence, so plausible, so seemly, should not be endowed with any arbitrary and artificial significance, especially of a monetary character--one must be able to view it absolutely without emotion of any sort, either of regret or rejoicing--one must remain conscientiously indifferent as to when this excellent old gentleman passes on to the Golden Shore'--but you know the breezy way in which Harold will sometimes talk. Only now he seems really sobered by this new attachment--" "But if he is already married--" "Yes, yes--if you can call it married--a ceremony performed by one of those common magistrates--quite without the sanction of the Church--but all that is past, and he is now ready to marry one who can be a wife to him--only my conscience did hurt me a little, and brother Cyrus said to me, 'You see Linford and tell him I sent you. Linford is a man of remarkable breadth, of rare flexibility.'" "Yes, and of course Allan was emphatically discouraging." Again she was recalling the fervour with which he had declared himself on this point on that last day when he actually made her believe in him.