"Hear his story, all of you. It has reconciled
me, for the first time in my life, to the anomaly of his existence."
Frank ruefully narrated the Chinese proposal for the second time, and
attempted to attach to it his own supplementary statement of objections
and difficulties. His father stopped him at the first word, pointed
peremptorily southeastward (from Somersetshire to China); and said,
without an instant's hesitation: "Go!" Mr. Vanstone, basking in golden
visions of his young friend's future, echoed that monosyllabic decision
with all his heart. Mrs. Vanstone, Miss Garth, even Norah herself, spoke
to the same purpose. Frank was petrified by an absolute unanimity of
opinion which he had not anticipated; and Magdalen was caught, for once
in her life, at the end of all her resources.
So far as practical results were concerned, the sitting of the family
council began and ended with the general opinion that Frank must go. Mr.
Vanstone's faculties were so bewildered by the son's sudden arrival,
the father's unexpected visit, and the news they both brought with them,
that he petitioned for an adjournment before the necessary arrangements
connected with his young friend's departure were considered in detail.
Pages:
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140