Yet he was honestly dissatisfied
with his surroundings, and thought himself hardly used by a hindering
fate. He believed himself to be most anxious to get away, yet he was
like a ship which will not be started out of port by anything less
than a hurricane. There really were excuses for his staying at home,
and since he had stopped to listen to them they beguiled him more and
more, and his friends one by one commended his devotion to his mother
and sisters, and sometimes forgot to sympathize with him for his
disappointments as they praised him for being such a dutiful son. To
be sure, he might be a great lawyer in Dunport as well as anywhere
else; he would not be the first; but a more inspiring life might have
made him more enthusiastic and energetic, and if he could have been
winning his way faster elsewhere, and sending home good accounts of
himself, not to speak of substantial aid, there is no question whether
it would not have given his family greater happiness and done himself
more good. He was not possessed of the stern determination which wins
its way at all hazards, and so was dependent upon his surroundings for
an occasional stimulus.
But Dunport was very grateful to him because he had stayed at home,
and he was altogether the most prominent young man in the town. It is
so easy to be thankful that one's friends are no worse that one
sometimes forgets to remember that they might be better; and it would
have been only natural if he thought of himself more highly than he
ought to think, since he had received a good deal of applause and
admiration.
Pages:
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267