14 THE COUSINS.

take care of herself; in my house she will not
need a nurse: but this is not all. In Mary’s new
home she must learn many new habits and un-
learn many old ones. This cannot be always
pleasing to her, and her nurse, being too ignorant
to understand my reasons, would listen to her
complaints, increase her dissatisfaction, and, per-
haps, often teach her to evade my wishes. You
can see how much more difficult this would make
the task of her improvement both to her and to
me.”

Mr. Mowbray acknowledged the truth of this
statement; yet he was so unaccustomed to deny
any of Mary’s wishes, that he could not bear to
disappoint her, and Mr. Lovett found that Mary’s
cheerful compliance was necessary to the accom-
plishment of his design. Calling her to him, he
placed her on his knee, and said, ‘‘ You told me
the other day you loved me. Now I want to know
what you meant by loving me—how you feel to-
wards a person that you love?”

Mary hesitated a moment, and then, throwing
her arms around his neck and kissing him, said,
“T feel so.”