"What can be done?"
"I'd do something."
"No, Mary. That's something he's got to work out himself. If he isn't
big enough to get over his pride. His self-consciousness. His--whatever
he calls it--If he isn't big enough--Then he isn't big enough--!"
The man sighed with a faraway patient look. The woman stirred uneasily.
"Graham," she said suddenly lifting her eyes in troubled question,
"When your cousin Eugenie was here, you remember, she talked about it
one day. She said we had no right to let Lynn become so attached to a
mere country boy who would grow up a boor. She said he had no
education, no breeding, no family, and that Lynn had the right to the
best social advantages to be had in the world. She said Lynn was a
natural born aristocrat, and that we had a great responsibility
bringing up a child with a face like hers, and a mind like hers, and an
inheritance like hers, in this little antiquated country place. She
said it was one thing for you with your culture and your fine
education, and your years of travel and experience, to hide yourself
here if you choose for a few years, pleasing yourself at playing with
souls and uplifting a little corner of the universe while you were
writing a great book; but it was quite another for us to allow our
gifted young daughter to know no other life. And especially she harped
on Lynn's friendship with Mark. She called him a hobbledehoy, said his
mother was 'common', and that coming from a home like that, he would
never amount to anything or have an education. He would always be
common and loaferish, and it wouldn't make any difference if he did, he
would never be cultured no matter how much education he had. He was not
in her class. She kept saying that over. She said a lot of things
and always ended up with that. And finally she said that we were
perfectly crazy, both of us. That she supposed Lynn thought she was
christianizing the boy or something, but it was dangerous business, and
we ought to be warned. And Graham, I'm afraid Mark heard it! He
was just coming up on the porch as she finished and I'm almost sure he
heard it!"
The eyes of the minister gave a startled flicker and then grew
comprehending. "I wondered why he gave up college after he had worked
so hard to get in."
"But Graham! Surely, if he had heard he would have wanted to show her
that she was wrong."