He
put it off deliberately till then, fearing that it might
entail a degree of mental agitation on his part that
would have an undesirable reflex action upon the paper.
Mr. Rattray had never been really attracted toward
matrimony before, although he had taken, in a discussion
in the columns of the _Age_ upon the careworn query, "Is
Marriage a Failure?" a vigorous negative side under
various pen-names which argued not only inclination, but
experience. He felt, therefore, that he could not possibly
predicate anything of himself under the circumstances,
and that it would be distinctly the part of wisdom to
wait until there was less going on. Mr. Rattray had an
indefinite idea that in case of a rejection he might find
it necessary to go out of town for some weeks to pull
himself together again--it was the traditional course--and
if such an exigency occurred before July the office would
go to pieces under the pressure of events. So he waited,
becoming every day more enthusiastically aware of the
great advantage of having Miss Bell permanently connected
with the paper under supervision which would be even more
highly authorized than an editor's, and growing at the
same time more thoroughly impressed with the unusual
character of her personal charm.
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