The yellow book: an illustrated quarterly (4.1895)

By Victoria Cross 159

in that passage long enough to be going through a banking
account, and balancing it too, for that matter ! However, the
point is, she is rieh—tons of money, over six thousand a year.”

“ Really ? ” I said, to say something.

“ Yes, but she loses every penny on her marriage. Seems such
a funny way to leave money to a girl, doesn’t it ? Some old pig of
a maiden aunt tied it up in that way . Nasty thing to do, I think ;
don’t you ? ”

“ Very immoral of the old lady, it seems. A girl like that, if
she can’t marry, will probably forego nothing but the cere-
mony.”

“ She runs the risk of losing her money, though, if anything
were known. She only has it dum casta manet, just like a Separa-
tion allowance.”

“ Hard lines,” I murmured sympathetically.

“ And so of course her people are anxious she should make a
good match—take some man, I mean, with an income equal to
what she has now of her own, so that she would not feel any loss.
Otherwise, you see, if she married a poor man, it would be rather
a severe drop for her.”

“ Conditions calculated to prevent any fellow but a millionaire
proposing to her, I should think,” I said.

cc Yes, except that she is a girl who does not care about money.
She has been out now three seasons, and had one or two good
chances and not taken them. Now myself, for instance, if she
wanted money and position and so on, she could hardly do better,
could she ? And my family and the rest of it are all right ; but
she couldn’t get over my red hair—I know it was that. She’s
mad upon looks—I know she is ; she let it out to me once, and
I bet you anything, she’d take you and chuck over her money and
everything eise, if you gave her the chance.”

“ I am