Part 1 (2/2)
discoloured by age and the oil of tobacco, and which he had lit and let out and relit again half a dozen ti our talk
”Very unorthodox,” some critical people will say
Aye, possibly so; but if these censors only knew father personally, and sa he fulfilled histhe fatherless andin their affliction, in addition to preaching the gospel and so winning souls to heaven, and hoas liked and loved by every one in the parish; perhaps they could condone his ”sin of o a proper clerical black coat with a stand-up collar of Oxford cut and the regulation white tie, and that of ”co as a common clay pipe!
Presently, after his second turn as far as the lilac bush and back, father's face cleared, as if he had worked out the question that had been puzzling him; for, its anxious expression vanished and his eyes seeain
”I suppose it's a farandfather,--my father, that is, Allan,--was a sailor; and I knoanted to go to sea too, just like you, before I was sent to college
So, that accounts for your liking for it--eh?”
”I suppose so,” I answered without thinking, just echoing his words like a parrot; although, now I co fully, I really can see no other reason than this hereditary instinct to account for the passionate longing that possessedRobinson Crusoe like other boys, I was absolutely ignorant of the life and all concerning it Indeed, up to then, although it may seem hardly credible, I had only once actually seen the sea, and a shi+p in the distance--far-away out in the offing of what appeared to me an immeasurable expanse of space This hen father took hton It was a wonderful experience to us, from the contrast the busy town on the coast offered to the quiet country village where we lived and of which my father was the pastor, buried in the boso world, and out of contact with seafaring folk and those that voyage the deep
Yes, there's no doubt of it That love for the sea, which made me wish to be a sailor as naturally as a cat loves cream, ran in ested
Before, however, we could either of us pursue the psychological investigation of this theory any further, our argu to where ere standing under the elarden
Father at once put away his pipe on her approach, always respecting and honouring her beyond all woreeted her with a smile of welcome
”Well, dear?” said he sympathetically as she held out the letter she carried and then placed her hand on his ar her anxious face up to his in the certainty of finding hiht be ”Now tell me all about it”
”It has co nearer to hi at the open sheet; for they had no secrets froh it had been addressed to hi at me, father added: ”This is froreat shi+p- brokers of Leadenhall Street, to who you in one of their vessels, Allan, on your expressing such a desire to go to sea”
”Oh, father!” was all I could say
”They infor froe in the Silver Queen on Saturday next, which will be to- been paid by ents, by whom also your outfit has been ordered; and your uniforery' as sailors call it, will be down here next Monday or Tuesday for you to try on”
”Oh, father!” I cried again, in wondering delight at his having settled everything so pro even that he had acceded to o, while you were asking me only just now if I would not prefer any other profession to the sea!”
”Because, irls, frequently change their minds, and I was anxious that you should make no ; for, even at the last hour, if you had told y to sea, I would cheerfully have sacrificed the money I have paid to the brokers and for your outfit Aye, and I would willingly do it now, for yourwith our other chicks at home”
”And on't you, Allan?” pleadedme to her convulsively ”It is such a fearful life that of a sailor, amid all the storms and perils of the deep”
”Don't press the boy,” interposed father before I could answer mother, whose fond embrace and tearful face almost made me feel inclined to reconsider my decision ”It is best for him to make a free choice, and that his heart should be in his future profession”
”But, Robert--” rejoined mother, but half convinced of this truth when the fact of her boy going to be a sailor was concerned
”My dear,” said father gently, interrupting her in his quiet way and drawing her arain, ”remember, that God is the God of the sea as well as of the land, and atch over our boy, our youngest, our Benjamin, there, as he has done here!”
Father's voice trembled and almost broke as he said this; and it seemed to me at the moment that I was an awful brute to cause such pain to those whom I loved, and who loved me so well
But, ere I could tell the mother in his cheery way
”Now, don't fret, dear, anyis settled now
Besides, you know, you agreed withhow Allan's fancy was set, I told you I thought of writing to London to get a shi+p for hiht be wasted when he finally made up histo control her sobs, while I, glad in the new prospect, was as dry-eyed as you please; ”but it is so hard to part with him, dear”