He came very soon again, and Mrs. Penniman had of course great
pleasure in executing this mission. Morris Townsend accepted her
invitation with equal good grace, and the dinner took place a few
days later. The Doctor had said to himself, justly enough, that they
must not have the young man alone; this would partake too much of the
nature of encouragement. So two or three other persons were invited;
but Morris Townsend, though he was by no means the ostensible, was
the real, occasion of the feast. There is every reason to suppose
that he desired to make a good impression; and if he fell short of
this result, it was not for want of a good deal of intelligent
effort. The Doctor talked to him very little during dinner; but he
observed him attentively, and after the ladies had gone out he pushed
him the wine and asked him several questions. Morris was not a young
man who needed to be pressed, and he found quite enough encouragement
in the superior quality of the claret. The Doctor's wine was
admirable, and it may be communicated to the reader that while he
sipped it Morris reflected that a cellar-full of good liquor--there
was evidently a cellar-full here--would be a most attractive
idiosyncrasy in a father-in-law. The Doctor was struck with his
appreciative guest; he saw that he was not a commonplace young man.
"He has ability," said Catherine's father, "decided ability; he has a
very good head if he chooses to use it.
Pages:
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68