ice
which Mr. Lyons had taken of her from the outset had gratified her, but
though she contrasted his physical energy with Wilbur's lack of vigor,
it had not occurred to her to consider him in the light of a possible
husband. Now that a year had passed since Wilbur's death, she felt
conscious once more, as had happened after her divorce, of the need of a
closer and more individual sympathy than any at her command. Her
relations with Mr. Parsons, to be sure, approximated those of father and
daughter, but his perceptions were much less acute than before his
seizure; he talked little and ceased to take a vital interest in current
affairs. She felt the lack of companionship and, also, of personal
devotion, such personal devotion as was afforded by the strenuous,
ardent allegiance of a man. On the other hand she was firmly resolved
never to allow the current of her own life to be turned away again by
the subordination of her purposes to those of any other person, and she
had believed that this resolution would keep her indifferent to
marriage, in spite of any sensations of loneliness or craving for
masculine idolatry. But as a widow of a year's standing she was now
suddenly interested by the thought that this solid, ambitious,
smooth-talking man might possibly satisfy her natural preference for a
mate without violating her individuality. She began to ask herself if he
were not truly congenial in a sense which no man had ever been to her
before; also, to ask if their aspirations and aims were not so nearly
identical that he would be certain as her husband to be proud of
everything she did and said, and to allow her to work hand in hand with
him for the furtherance of their common purpose. She did not put these
questions to herself until his conduct suggested that he was seeking her
society as a suitor; but having put them, she was pleased to find her
heart throb with the hope of a stimulating and dear discovery.

Certain causes contributed to convince her that this hope rested on a
sure foundation--causes associated with her present life and point of
view. She felt confident first of all of the godliness of Mr. Lyons as
indicated not only by his sober, successful life, and his enthusiastic,
benignant patriotism, but by his active, reverent interest in the
affairs of his church--the Methodist Church--to which Mr. Parsons
belonged, and which Selma had begun to attend since her return to
Benham. It had been her mother's faith, a