know what to
say to him.

But on the Saturday morning she got a letter from Mr Brehgert. It was
handed to her as she was sitting at breakfast with her sister,--who
at that moment was triumphant with a present of gooseberries which
had been sent over from Toodlam. The Toodlam gooseberries were noted
throughout Suffolk, and when the letters were being brought in Sophia
was taking her lover's offering from the basket with her own fair
hands. 'Well!' Georgey had exclaimed, 'to send a pottle of
gooseberries to his lady love across the country! Who but George
Whitstable would do that?'

'I dare say you get nothing but gems and gold,' Sophy retorted. 'I
don't suppose that Mr Brehgert knows what a gooseberry is.' At that
moment the letter was brought in, and Georgiana knew the writing. 'I
suppose that's from Mr Brehgert,' said Sophy.

'I don't think it matters much to you who it's from.' She tried to be
composed and stately, but the letter was too important to allow of
composure, and she retired to read it in privacy.

The letter was as follows:--

MY DEAR GEORGIANA,

Your father came to me the day after I was to have met you at
Lady Monogram's party. I told him then that I would not write to
you till I had taken a day or two to consider what he said to
me;--and also that I thought it better that you should have a
day or two to consider what he might say to you. He has now
repeated what he said at our first interview, almost with more
violence; for I must say that I think he has allowed himself to
be violent when it was surely unnecessary.

The long and short of it is this. He altogether disapproves of
your promise to marry me. He has given three reasons;--first
that I am in trade; secondly that I am much older than you, and
have a family; and thirdly that I am a Jew. In regard to the
first I can hardly think that he is earnest. I have explained to
him that my business is that of a banker; and I can hardly
conceive it to be possible that any gentleman in England should
object to his daughter marrying a banker, simply because the man
is a banker. There would be a blindness of arrogance in such a
proposition of which I think your father to be incapable. This
has merely been added in to strengthen his other objections.

As to my age, it is just fifty-one. I do not at all think myself
too old to be married again. Whether I am too old for you is for