Deserving no
pity from anybody, Frank was, as a matter of course, coddle d and
compassionated on the spot. The captain took him by the hand, the crew
pitied him, and the passengers patted him on the back. He was fed,
clothed, and presented with his passage home. Luck enough so far,
you will say. Nothing of the sort; nothing like luck enough for my
despicable son.
"The ship touched at the Cape of Good Hope. Among his other acts of
folly Captain Kirke took a woman passenger on board at that place--not
a young woman by any means--the elderly widow of a rich colonist. Is it
necessary to say that she forthwith became deeply interested in Frank
and his misfortunes? Is it necessary to tell you what followed? Look
back at my son's career, and you will see that what followed was all
of a piece with what went before. He didn't deserve your poor father's
interest in him--and he got it. He didn't deserve your attachment--and
he got it. He didn't deserve the best place in one of the best offices
in London; he didn't deserve an equally good chance in one of the best
mercantile houses in China; he didn't deserve food, clothing, pity, and
a free passage home--and he got them all.
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