human
Mr. Harris, she said, proudly,
gpt
Yes, I know I did, he said;
human
Don’t you think that Mr. Vincent might be a fair compromise?
gpt
I’ve called you Maisrie once or twice, by accident, and you didn’t seem to mind,
human
I am sure I did not notice, she made answer at once.
gpt
How should I? I am used to nothing else.
human
Then I am to be allowed to call you Maisrie? said he, clutching eagerly at this new-found privilege.
gpt
And you will call me Vincent—when you find Mr. Vincent become too formal: is it a compact?
human
Yes, it is—Mr. Vincent—if you like, said she, with a smile.
gpt
But why do you make it so very serious?
human
Because, said he, gravely,
gpt
Not in the middle of Oxford-street?
human
We will postpone the ceremony, if you prefer it; and now I will begin and tell you how it is still possible we may have that long ramble through Scotland together. You were anxious that before anything of the kind were attempted, your grandfather should go back to the United States to get materials for his book on the Scottish poets in America. Well, now, it seems a pity to make such a long voyage if it can be done without; and so I have taken the liberty of sending over to New York to see if there isn’t some handy young fellow there—some clerk or reporter—who would undertake to collect all the necessary materials, and send them over here for your grandfather to work up. Then we could go to Scotland all the same—that is, if you will let me accompany you.
gpt
Someone to collect the materials and send them over? she repeated; and then she said:
human
But would that be fair, Mr. Harris—Mr. Vincent—would that be honest? Surely not! The book would not be my grandfather’s book at all; properly it would belong to the young man in New York.
gpt
I beg your pardon, said he, with decision.
human
He only supplies the bricks; he does not build the house. When a Chancellor of the Exchequer produces his budget, of course he claims it as his own; but he has got his facts from the heads of departments, and most likely his quotations have been hunted out for him by his private secretary. It would be your grandfather’s book, solely and wholly.
gpt
But the cost? she said, after a second.
human
Supposing it were practicable, the expense—
gpt
Oh, never mind about that, said he, lightly.
human
It will be next to nothing—you needn’t mind about that. Our deputy in New York will find very little difficulty in getting the memoranda that he wants. There is no sort of unnecessary modesty about minor poets; they will be glad enough to give him specimens of their work, as soon as it is known what he aims at. And in Scotland, he continued (grown suddenly bold),
gpt
Yes, that would be very nice indeed,