Page:The Novels and Tales of Henry James, Volume 2 (New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907).djvu/79

 "You're not fair," Newman presently broke out. "You draw a fellow on and put him off his guard and then you gibe at him."

"I assure you," she answered, "that I'm very serious. To prove it I make you a proposal. Should you like me, as they say here, to marry you?"

"To hunt up a wife for me?"

"She's already found. I'll bring you together."

"Oh come," said Tristram, "we don't keep a bureau de placement. He 'll think you want your commission."

"Present me to a woman who comes up to my notion," Newman declared, "and I'll marry her to-morrow."

"You've a strange tone about it, and I don't quite understand you. I did n't suppose you could be so cold-blooded."

Newman was silent a while. "Well, I want a great woman. I stick to that. That's one thing I can treat myself to, and if it's to be had I mean to have it. What else have I toiled and struggled for all these years? I've succeeded, and now what am I to do with my success? To make it perfect, as I see it, there must be a lovely being perched on the pile like some shining statue crowning some high monument. She must be as good as she's beautiful and as clever as she's good. I can give my wife many things, so I'm not afraid to ask certain others myself. She shall have everything a woman can desire; I shall not even object to her being too good for me. She may be cleverer and wiser than I can understand, and I shall only be the better pleased. I want, in a word, the best article in the market." 49