consent," he said at last, "since Mr.
Brand recommends it."

"I should like to perform the ceremony very soon," observed Mr. Brand,
with a sort of solemn simplicity.

"Come, come, that 's charming!" cried Felix, profanely.

Mr. Wentworth sank into his chair. "Doubtless, when you understand it,"
he said, with a certain judicial asperity.

Gertrude went to her sister and led her away, and Felix having passed
his arm into Mr. Brand's and stepped out of the long window with him,
the old man was left sitting there in unillumined perplexity.

Felix did no work that day. In the afternoon, with Gertrude, he got into
one of the boats and floated about with idly-dipping oars. They talked a
good deal of Mr. Brand--though not exclusively.

"That was a fine stroke," said Felix. "It was really heroic."

Gertrude sat musing, with her eyes upon the ripples. "That was what he
wanted to be; he wanted to do something fine."

"He won't be comfortable till he has married us," said Felix. "So much
the better."

"He wanted to be magnanimous; he wanted to have a fine moral pleasure.
I know him so well," Gertrude went on. Felix looked at her; she spoke
slowly, gazing at the clear water. "He thought of it a great deal, night
and day. He thought it would be beautiful. At last he made up his mind
that it was his duty, his duty to do just that--nothing less than that.
He felt exalted; he felt sublime. That 's how he likes to feel. It is
better for him than if I had listened to him."

"It 's better for me," smiled Felix. "But do you know, as regards the
sacrifice, that I don't believe he admired you when this decision was
taken quite so much as he had done a fortnight before?"

"He never admired me. He admires Charlotte; he pitied me. I know him so
well."

"Well, then, he did n't pity you so much."

Gertrude looked at Felix a little, smiling. "You should n't permit
yourself," she said, "to diminish the splendor of his action. He admires
Charlotte," she repeated.

"That's capital!" said Felix laughingly, and dipping his oars. I cannot
say exactly to which member of Gertrude's phrase he alluded; but he
dipped his oars again, and they kept floating about.

Neither Felix nor his sister, on that day, was present at Mr.
Wentworth's at the evening repast. The two occupants of the chalet dined
together, and the young man informed his companion that his marriage was
now an assured fact. Eugenia congratulated him, and replied that if he
we