That, at any rate, was how _Constance_ (of "the House of _Ussher_")
explained her vagaries, though I couldn't see why. The daughter of a very
rich Jew, whose Christian wife had run away from him, she was brought up in
great comfort, which included the love of a peer's son, her father's
secretary. It is true that her stern parent would not hear of their union;
but that has no doubt happened to young heiresses before now without
turning them into criminals. With _Constance_ however it seems to have been
different. She had gathered from what she knew of her father's career that
there must be easy ways of making money if you are not too scrupulous, so
she forged his name for a thousand pounds with speculative intent. It was
open to the old man to regard this as an act of filial piety, since it was
an attempt, however crude, to follow the parental tradition; but apparently
forgery had not been one of his foibles and he threatened her with the law
unless she gave up the idea of marrying the secretary, now dismissed from
his service.
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