'I shall think it an unwise
marriage,' he continued, repeating his words; 'but I was bound to
tell him that were Miss Boncassen to become your wife she would
also become my daughter.'
'Oh sir.'
'I told him why the marriage would be distasteful to me. Whether I
may be wrong or right I think it to be for the good of our
country, for the good of our order, for the good of our individual
families, that we should support each other by marriage. It is not
as though we were a narrow class, already too closely bound
together by family alliances. The room for choice might be wide
enough for you without going across the Atlantic to look for her
who is to be the mother of your children. To this Mr Boncassen
replied that he was to look solely to his daughter's happiness. He
meant me to understand that he cared nothing for my feelings. Why
should he? That which to me is deep wisdom is to him an empty
prejudice. He asked me then how others would receive her.'
'I am sure everybody would like her,' said Silverbridge.
'I like her. I like her very much.
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