He could
have borne the loss of fortune and broad acres better than this
convincing proof of his father's dislike and distrust, and he could
have endured even that, had it not befallen him through the perfidy
of his brother. When, therefore, he was met by his wife's bitter
reproaches and persistent coldness he closed his heart against all
the world, shook the dust of home from off his feet, left his own
small fortune behind him, kissed his little son, and became a
wanderer on the face of the earth.
'This is substantially Rhoda's story, but it does not satisfy her
completely. She says, in her whimsical way, that it needs another
villain to account properly for Mr. Man's expression.
'Would it not be strange if by any chance we have brought him to a
happier frame of mind? Would it not be a lovely tribute to the
secret power of this place, to the healing atmosphere of love that we
try to create--that atmosphere in which we bathe our own tired
spirits day by day, recreating ourselves with every new dawn? But
whether our benefactor be the Solitary or not, some heart has been
brought into new relation with us and with the world. It only
confirms my opinion that everybody is at his or her best in the
presence of children. In what does the magic of their influence
consist? This morning I was riding down in the horse-cars, and a
poor ragged Italian woman entered, a baby in her arms, and two other
children following close behind.
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