Читать книгу Decision онлайн

22 страница из 31

To a young man with such habits and desires, as Frank had been permitted from his cradle to indulge, this unexpected mandate appeared a sentence cruel as death, and so much was he overwhelmed by it, that the weak constitution and parental affection of his father, rendered him incapable of insisting on the sacrifice, and Frank would have carried his point but for the irresistible pleadings of his mother. "Your brother," said she, "has left his country, probably for life, your father may linger long, but he will never be restored, and what will become of your mother and three sisters, if you persist in pursuing a profession, where, even if you are successful, it is utterly unlikely that you can assist us."

When Mr. Falconer retailed this conversation at home, and added that poor Frank had yielded to his mother's intreaties, Mrs. Falconer praised him highly, and said, "she was impatient to know him," Maria observed only "he had done his duty," but she soon afterwards said, "yet surely there can be no occasion to distress him thus? for when his father dies he must be rich enough to provide for his widow and daughters."