“I think so.”

“And what peculiar dislike has papa against the object of your choice?—­are you aware?”

“The same he would entertain against any choice but his own—­his great ambition.  The toil and labor of all his thoughts, hopes, and calculations, is to see me a countess before he dies.  I know not whether to consider this as affection moved by the ambition of life, or ambition stimulated by affection.”

“Ah, my dear Lucy, I fear very much that if your papa’s heart were analyzed it would be found that he is more anxious to gratify his own ambition than to promote your happiness, and that, consequently, his interest in the matter altogether absorbs yours.  But we need not discuss this now.  You say he is aware of your attachment?”

“He is; I myself confessed it to him.”

“Is he aware of the name and condition in life of your lover?”

“Alas, no!  Mrs. Mainwaring.  He has seen him, but that is all.  He expressed, however, a fierce and ungovernable curiosity to know who and what he is; but, unfortunately, my lover, as you call him, is so peculiarly circumstanced, that I could not disclose either the one or the other.”

“But, my dear Lucy, is not this secrecy, this clandestime conduct, on the part of your lover, wrong?  Ought you, on the other hand, to entertain an attachment for any person who feels either afraid or ashamed to avow his name and rank?  Pardon me, my love.”

Lucy rose up, and Mrs. Mainwaring felt somewhat alarmed at the length she had gone, especially on observing that the lovely girl’s face and neck were overspread with a deep and burning blush.

“Pardon you, my dear madam!  Is it for uttering sentiments worthy of the purest friendship and affection, and such only as I would expect to proceed from your lips?  But it is necessary to state, in my own defence, that beloved mamma was aware of, and sanctioned our attachment.  A mystery there is, unquestionably, about my lover; but it is one with which she was acquainted, for she told me so.  It is not, however, upon this mystery or that mystery—­but upon the truth, honor, delicacy, disinterestedness, of him to whom I have yielded my heart, that I speak.  In true, pure, and exalted love, my dear Mrs. Mainwaring, there is an intuition of the heart which enables the soul to see into and comprehend its object, with a completeness of success as certain and effectual as the mission of an angel.  When such love exists—­and such only—­all is soon known—­the spirit is satisfied; and, except those lessons of happiness and delight that are before it, the heart, on that subject, has nothing more to learn.  This, then, is my reply; and as for the mystery I speak of, every day is bringing us nearer and nearer to its disclosure, and the knowledge of his worth.”