Did she ever have reason to think you were
looking after any other girls?"
"Never, I swear it," said Mr. Hurst, eagerly.
"Just so," said Mr. Mott, with a satisfied nod. "That's where you made a
mistake. She was too sure of you; it was too easy. No excitement.
Girls like a man that other girls want; they don't want a turtle-dove in
fancy trousers."
Mr. Hurst coughed.
"And they like a determined man," continued Miss Garland's uncle. "Why,
in my young days, if I had been jilted, and come down to see about it,
d'you think I'd have gone out of the house without seeing her? I might
have been put out--by half-a-dozen--but I'd have taken the mantelpiece
and a few other things with me. And you are bigger than I am."
"We aren't all made the same," said Mr. Hurst, feebly.
"No, we're not," said Mr. Mott. "I'm not blaming you; in a way, I'm
sorry for you. If you're not born with a high spirit, nothing'll give it
to you."
"It might be learnt," said Mr. Hurst. Mr. Mott laughed.
"High spirits are born, not made," he said.
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