And  I  confess  it  was  very  ridiculous  of  John  to  make  any
mystery  about  it.  There  was  nothing  in  his  birth  or  in  his  Ufe
which  he  had  any  reason  to  be  ashamed  of.  His  father  and  mother
had  not  "got  on."  They  had  parted,  and  he  had  been  brought
up  on  his  mother's  small  income  till  he  was  sixteen  ;  and  then  his
father  had  died,  and  he  had  suddenly  been  made  aware,  never
having  given  any  previous  thought  to  it,  that  he  was  the  heir  to
a  large  fortune.  This  was  the  simple  truth.  If  it  was  a  mystery,
yet  it  was  not  a  mystery  which  had  anything  disgraceful  in  it.
His  mother  might  be  blamed,  but  for  folly  and  want  of  under-
standing only,  not  for  anything  shameful.  Why  he  should  have
hesitated  to  tell  the  Austens  all  this,  who  could  say  ?  It  was
highly  absurd  on  his  part.  He  had  thought  of  giving  Edith  a
surprise  in  the  Lord  of  Burleigh  way,  taking  her  to  his  house,
which  he  had  made  very  handsome,  a  beautiful  place,  indeed  a
show  house,  and  after  showing  her  all  its  beauties  and  gloating
over  her  admiration,  saying  to  her,  "  All  of  this  is  thine  and  mine."
It  was  a  foolish  idea,  but  he  had  cherished  it.  As  for  the  parents,
the  settlements,  when  they  were  produced,  would  very  well  satisfy
them.  And  he  was  delighted  with  the  good  faith  which  took  him,
as  he  thought,  for  granted,  and  on  his  own  estimate.
