human
So it is a boy. I congratulate you,
gpt
I'm glad, Major, to have your approval.
human
Oh, it's what is expected, that's all. For my part, I prefer girls. The announcement of boys is more expensive.
gpt
It used to seem to me, said the Major,
human
You speak with the feelings of a father.
gpt
I speak, sir, from observation. I look at society as it is, not as it would be if we had primogeniture and a landed aristocracy. A daughter under our arrangements is more likely to be a comfort to her parent in his declining years than a son.
human
But you seem, Major, to have preferred a single life?
gpt
Circumstances--thank you, just a drop more--we are the creatures of circumstances. It is a long story. There were misrepresentation and misunderstanding. It is true, sir, that at that time my property was encumbered, but it was not unproductive. She died long ago. I have reason to believe that her married life was not happy. I was hot-blooded in those days, and my honor was touched, but I never blamed her. She was, at twenty, the most beautiful woman in Virginia. I have never seen her equal.