You are still young, and I am old enough to be your father.

I am unmarried, with no particular ties in the world.

You have given me new interest in life.

It will be a great pleasure for me to watch your career.
"If you have no objection I shall formally adopt you; and shall, tomorrow, draw out a will appointing you heir to all I possess--which I may tell you is something like fifteen thousand pounds--and shall make it my business to push you forward." "It is too much altogether, Colonel." "Not at all, Bullen; you saved my life, when certain death seemed to be staring you in the face; and it is a small thing, when I have no longer need of it, that you should inherit what I leave behind.
"In the meantime, I shall make you an allowance of a couple of hundred a year, as my adopted son.

Say no more about it; you are not stepping into anyone else's shoes, for I have no near relation, no one who has a right to expect a penny at my death; and I have hitherto not even taken the trouble to make a will.