She herself would fight to protect her daughter from the passive wear and tear of poverty; but she would have died to keep a son, if she had had one, from being driven into the active warfare of the support of a family.
In the pause that followed there was a ring at the bell, an argument with the servant, something that sounded like a scuffle, and then a young man strolled into the room.

He was tall and beautifully dressed,--at least that was the first impression,--though, as a matter of fact, the clothes were of the cheapest ready-made variety.

But nothing could look cheap or ill made on those splendid muscles.

He wore a silk shirt, a flower in his buttonhole, a gray tie in which was a pearl as big as a pea, long patent-leather shoes with elaborate buff-colored tops; he carried a thin stick and a pair of new gloves in one hand, but the most conspicuous object in his dress was a brand-new, gray felt hat, with a rather wide brim, which he wore at an angle greater than Mr.Lanley attempted even at his jauntiest.

His face was long and rather dark, and his eyes were a bright gray blue, under dark brows.