In a tone that betrayed her all but departed hope of changing him, she said: "It is a great shock to me to have you even pretend to be so heartless--to talk of breaking these young people's hearts--just for a notion." "It's better to break their hearts before marriage," replied Hiram, "than to let them break their lives, and their hearts, too, on such marriages.
The girl that wants my son only if he has money to enable her to make a fool of herself, ain't fit to be a wife--and a mother.

As for Del and Ross--The man that looks at what a woman _has_ will never look at what she _is_--and my daughter's well rid of him." A painful silence, then Mrs.Whitney rose.

"If I hadn't suspected, Hiram, that you intended to cheat your children out of their rights in order to get a reputation as a philanthropist, I'd not have brought this matter up at this time.

I see my instincts didn't mislead me.

But I don't give up hope.