the rule,' you know, as the old saying goes. Now Harold is ready to
settle down, and the girl is of excellent family and all that--quite the
social and moral brace he needs, in fact."

Nancy was attentive, yet a little puzzled.

"But--you speak of your son, Harold--is he not already married?"

"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