Whom had he to consult but himself now? His father and
mother never need know, and even if they did, they should be
thankful to see him married to any woman who would make him happy as
Ellen would. As for not being able to afford marriage, how did poor
people do? Did not a good wife rather help matters than not? Where one
could live two could do so, and if Ellen was three or four years older
than he was- well, what was that?
Have you, gentle reader, ever loved at first sight? When you fell in
love at first sight, how long, let me ask, did it take you to become
ready to fling every other consideration to the winds except that of
obtaining possession of the loved one? Or rather, how long would it
have taken you if you had had no father or mother, nothing to lose
in the way of money, position, friends, professional advancement, or
what not, and if the object of your affections was as free from all
these impedimenta as you were yourself.?
If you were a young John Stuart Mill, perhaps it would have taken
you some time, but suppose your nature was Quixotic, impulsive,
altruistic, guileless; suppose you were a hungry man starving for
something to love and lean upon, for one whose burdens you might bear,
and who might help you to bear yours.
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