"Oh, no, papa; only of late. When your promise came, then I
thought very soon what I would ask you. And now is such a good
time."
"There will be different opinions about that," said my father.
"However, we will go, Daisy. To the half of my kingdom. Your
mother has the other half. But allow me to ask you just in
passing, what do you think of our young English friend?"
"He has no head, papa."
Papa looked amused.
"Signor Piacevoli - what do you think of him?"
"He is very nice and kind and full of good things; but he has
no principles, papa; no settled principles."
"He has a head," said papa.
"Yes, sir; out of order."
"How do you estimate Mr. Leypoldt, then? - his head is in
order, and a good deal in it."
"Only the truth left out, papa."
"The truth?" said my father. "He is fuller of truth, of all
sorts, than any one else I know, Daisy."
"Truth of all sorts, papa, but not the truth. He understands
the world, and almost everything in it; but not who made it
nor what it was made for; and he knows men; but not their
work, or place, or destiny in the universe. He knows what they
are; he has no idea what they ought to be, or what they may
be."
"He is not a religious man, certainly. Do you carry your
principles so far, Daisy, that you mean you would not let
anybody approach you who is not of your way of thinking?"
A pang shot through my heart, with the instant sense of the
answer I ought to give. I might have evaded the question; but
I would not. Yet I could not immediately speak. I was going to
put a bond upon myself; and the words would not come.
"Do you mean that, Daisy?" papa repeated. "Seriously. Is it
your rule of supposed duty, that a man must be a Christian
after your sort, to obtain your favour?"
"Papa," I said struggling, - "one cannot control one's
liking."
"No," said papa, laughing; "that is very true. Then if you
liked somebody who was not that sort of a Christian, Daisy,
you would not refuse to marry him?"
"Papa," I said with difficulty, - "I think I ought."
The words struck upon my own heart, I cannot tell how heavily.
But they were forced from me. When the question came, it had
to be answered. I suppose the matter had really been in my
mind before, vaguely, and I had refused to look at it, while
yet I could not help seeing its proportions and bearing; so
that when papa asked me I knew what I must say. But the spoken
words stunned me, for all that.