CHAPTERIII。
ITwasquiteearlyonthefollowingmorning，whenMr。DelafieldrungatthedoorofthehouseinwhichthefatherofMissHenlyresided。Thegentlemanhadobtainedthepermissionoftheyounglady，theprecedingevening，toputhimselfonthelistofhervisitingacquaintance，andacasualintroductiontobothofCharlotte’sparentshadsmoothedthewaytothisintimacy。Itiscertain，that，muchasMr。andMrs。Henlylovedtheirchild，neitherofthementertainedtheselfishwishofmonopolizingallofheraffectionstothemselvesduringlife。Itwasnatural，andathingtoheexpected，thatCharlotteshouldmarry;andamongthewholeoftheiracquaintancethereappearednoonesounobjectionableashernewadmirer。Hewasagreeableinperson，inmanners，andintemper;hewasintelligent，witty，andamanoftheworld;and，moreover，hewasworth——threehundredthousanddollars！Whatparentistherewhosejudgmentwouldremainunbiassedbythesesolidreasonsinfavourofacandidateforthehandofhischild？orwhatfemaleistherewhoseheartcouldbesteeledagainstsuchattractionsinhersuitor？ManywerethehoursofcarethathadbeenpassedbytheguardiansofCharlotte’shappiness，inruminatingontheeventthatwastoyieldtheirchargetothekeepingofanother;frequentweretheirdiscussionsonthisinterestingsubject，andinnumerabletheirplanstoprotectherinexperienceagainstfallingintothoseerrorsthathadblastedthepeaceofsomanyaroundthem;buttheappearanceofSeymourDelafieldseemedasthefulfilmentoftheirmostsanguineexpectations。Tohisrefinementofmanners，theyboththoughtthattheycouldyieldthesensitivedelicacyoftheirchildwithconfidence;
inhistravelledexperiencetheyanticipatedthepermanencyofacorrectedtaste;nor，wasitadisagreeableconsiderationtoeither，thatasthesilkencordofpaternaldisciplinewastobeloosened，itwastobesucceededbythefettersofhymencastinpolishedgold。InwhatmannertheirdaughterregardedtheevidentadmirationofMr。
Delafieldwillappear，byherconclusionofourtale。
Onenteringtheparlour，DelafieldfoundGeorgeMortonseatedinachairnearthefire，withhispersonmorethanusuallywellguardedagainstthecold，asifheweresufferingundertheeffectsofaseriousindisposition。Thesalutationsbetweentheyoungmenwerealittleembarrassedonbothsides;