I will diligently try to deserve it; and you will never regret it, you may be assured." "I cannot give it, Mr Lorton,"-- she replied in a decisive way.--"And if you meet my daughter again, you must promise me that it shall be only as a friend." "And, what if I refuse to do so ?"--I said defiantly.
"I should leave the neighbourhood," she said promptly.--"And, if you were so very ungentlemanlike, as still to persecute her with your attentions, I should soon take measures to put a stop to them." What could I say or do?
She was armed at all points, and I was powerless! "Will you let me see your daughter; and, learn from her own lips if she be of the same opinion as yourself ?" I asked.
I was longing to see Min.

I wanted to know whether she had been convinced by her mother's worldly policy, or no.
"It is impossible for me to grant your request," said Mrs Clyde.

"My daughter is not at home.

She went down to the country this morning on a visit to her aunt; and the date of her return depends mainly on your decision now." This was the finishing blow.
I succumbed completely before this master-stroke of policy, which my wary antagonist had not disclosed until the last.
"Oh! Mrs Clyde," I said; "how very hard you are to me!" "Pardon me, Mr Lorton," she replied, as suave as ever.--"But, you will think differently by-and-by, and thank me for acting as I have done! Your foolish fancy for my daughter will soon wear off; and you will live to laugh at your present folly!" "Never!" I said, determinedly, with a full heart.
"But you will promise not to speak to my daughter otherwise than as a friend, when you see her again ?" she urged:--not at all eagerly, but, quite coolly, as she had spoken all along.
I would have preferred her having been angry, to that calm, irritating impassiveness she displayed.

She appeared to be a patent condenser of all emotion.
"I suppose I must consent to your terms!"-- I said, despairingly.--"Although, Mrs Clyde, I give you fair warning that, when I am in a position to renew my suit under better auspices, I will not hold myself bound by this promise." "Very well, Mr Lorton," she said, "I accept your proviso; but, when you make your fortune it will be time enough to talk about it! In the meanwhile, relying upon your solemn word as a gentleman not to renew your offer to my daughter, or single her out with your attentions--which might seriously interfere with her future prospects--I shall still be pleased to welcome you _occasionally_"-- with a marked emphasis on the word--"at my house.