wonderful!" he exclaimed with much feeling. Then he added, "The
daughter is very like her, don't you think?"

* * * * *

XIII

* * * * *

Hamlen's remark remained in Huntington's mind long after it was spoken.
He himself had been impressed by Merry's resemblance to her mother as
they set out on their afternoon's pilgrimage; yet his reply to Hamlen's
question was a prompt denial. Huntington's mind centered itself upon
this paradox as they walked down the long driveway, and he wondered why
he had impulsively yet deliberately given an impression so at variance
with what he knew to be the facts. Seeking for self-justification, he
turned his head slightly so that he might inspect his companion more
closely without attracting her attention. After all, he satisfied
himself, the resemblance was occasioned more by certain intangible
characteristics than by any similarity of features. Marian Seymour
possessed a beauty of more startling type than her daughter; indeed,
until that afternoon Huntington had thought of Merry as an attractive
rather than a beautiful girl. Now that the subject forced itself upon
him he realized she was both, and that the type proved so satisfying
that he had been content to enjoy it without the temptation of analysis.

Huntington's further acquaintance with the daughter emphasized his
disapproval of her mother's idea regarding her possible marriage to
Hamlen, and this led him to make a comparison between Marian Seymour as
she was to-day and the idealization with which he had been so long
familiar. Her beauty still remained, her fascination was perhaps greater
since experience had given substance to her girlish vivacity and charm,
and her energy was such that she unconsciously dominated every situation
of which she was a factor. She was evidently devoted to her husband and
to her children, but her force of personality dominated them as it did
all others with whom she came in contact. Huntington had rather admired
this trait in a woman, but now it clashed with his own judgment. He gave
her credit for believing that she would be acting in her daughter's
interest, but her suggestion did shock him, for it seemed to show a lack
of sympathetic understanding. The idea of Merry married to Philip
Hamlen! The man was all right, in his way, of course. Eventually he
might become less of the recluse and more nearly human; but obviously he
was t