Years ago Dr. Lavendar had given up trying to reconcile the two
Wrights; years ago Old Chester's speculations languished and died out.
Once in a while some one remembered the quarrel and said, "What in the
world could it have been about?" And once in a while Samuel's own
children asked awkward questions. "Mother, what was father's row with
grandfather?" And Mrs. Wright's answer was as direct as the question.
"I don't know. He never told me."
When this reply was made to young Sam he dropped the subject. He had
but faint interest in his father, and his grandfather with whom he
took tea every Sunday night was too important a person to connect with
so trivial an affair as a quarrel.
This matter of offspring is certainly very curious. Why should the
solid Samuel Wright and his foolish, obedient Eliza have brought into
the world a being of mist and fire? A beautiful youth, who laughed or
wept or sung aloud, indifferent to all about him! Sometimes Sam senior
used to look at his son and shake his head in bewildered astonishment;
but often he was angry, and oftener still--though this he never
admitted--hurt. The boy, always impersonally amiable, never thought it
worth while to explain himself; partly because he was not interested
in his father's opinion of his conduct, and partly because he knew he
could not make himself understood.
"But who, my dear Eliza," Samuel would say to his wife--"who could
understand such a boy? Look at this last performance of his!
Purchasing pictures of actors! Where does he get such low
tastes?--unless some of your family were interested in such things?"
"Oh no, Samuel; no, indeed," Mrs. Wright protested nervously.
"And to use money not his own! Do you know what that is called, my
dear Eliza? It is called--"
"Oh don't, Samuel." whimpered the poor mother.
"And to think how carefully I have trained him! And all I have done
for him. I let him buy that skiff he said he wanted. Absolute waste of
money! Our old rowboat is good enough for the girls, so why isn't it
good enough for him? And I never laid a hand on him in punishment
either; not many fathers can say that."
As for the bank supplies young Sam had explained to his mother that
they had been ordered and charged, so what was the matter? And
Mrs. Wright kneading her tear-soaked handkerchief into a ball, cried
some more and said: "Oh, Sam dear, why do you act so?"