y girl though I say it,
who am her mother; and moreover, she will bring a pretty penny to her
husband whoever he may be; for you see, Captain Bridgeman, my husband
was not idle during the time that he was in the family of the Delmars,
and as her sister is so well to do, why little Amelia will come into a
greater share than she otherwise would--that is, if she marries well,
and according to the wishes of her mother."

At this interesting part of the conversation Captain Bridgeman leant
more earnestly towards my grandmother.

"A pretty penny, madam, you said; I never heard the expression before;
what may a pretty penny mean?"

"It means, first and last, 4,000 pounds, Captain Bridgeman; part down,
and the other when I die."

"Indeed," replied Captain Bridgeman; "I certainly never thought that
Miss Amelia would ever have any fortune; indeed, she's too pretty and
accomplished to require any."

"Now, sir," continued my grandmother, "the point on which I wish to
consult you is this: you know that Lieutenant Flat is very often here,
and for a long while has been very attentive to my daughter; he has, I
believe, almost as much as proposed--that is, in his sort of way; but my
daughter does not seem to care for him. Now, Captain Bridgeman, Mr
Flat may not be very clever, but I believe him to be a very worthy young
man; still one must be cautious, and what I wish to know before I
interfere and persuade my daughter to marry him is, whether you think
that Mr Flat is of a disposition which would make the marriage state a
happy one; for you see, Captain Bridgeman, love before marriage is very
apt to fly away, but love that comes after marriage will last out your
life."

"Well, madam," replied the captain, "I will be candid with you; I do not
think that a clever girl like Miss Amelia is likely to be happy as the
wife of my good friend Mr Flat--still there is nothing against his
character, madam; I believe him harmless--very harmless."

"He's a very fine-looking young man, Captain Bridgeman."

"Yes; nothing to be found fault with in his appearance."

"Very good-natured."

"Yes; he's not very quick in temper, or anything else; he's what we call
a slow-coach."

"I hear he's a very correct officer, Captain Bridgeman."

"Yes; I am not aware that he has ever been under an arrest."

"Well, we cannot expect everything in this world; he is handsome,
good-tempered, and a good officer--I cannot see why Amelia does not like
him, p