SergeantDunhamgavethedesiredpromiseverycheer-
fully。forhehadcompletelywroughthimselfupintothebeliefthatthemanhesomuchesteemedhimselfmustbeacceptabletohisdaughter。Hehadmarriedawomanmuchyoungerthanhimself，andhesawnounfitnessintherespectiveyearsoftheintendedcouple。Mabelwasedu-
catedsomuchabovehim，too，thathewasnotawareofthedifferencewhichactuallyexistedbetweentheparentandchildinthisrespect。ItfollowedthatSergeantDun-
hamwasnotaltogetherqualifiedtoappreciatehisdaugh-
ter’stastes，ortoformaveryprobableconjecturewhatwouldbethedirectiontakenbythosefeelingswhichoftenerdependonimpulsesandpassionthanonreason。