I believe he was really a most expensive and vicious
young man; and I fancy he does not deny that now, for they say he would
change the past if he could.
I was looking at the pensive little boy in the oval frame--aged eight
years--who was, a few springs later, 'a most expensive and vicious young
man,' and was now a suffering and outcast old one, and wondering from what
a small seed the hemlock or the wallflower grows, and how microscopic are
the beginnings of the kingdom of God or of the mystery of iniquity in a
human being's heart.
'Austin--your papa--was very kind to him--_very_; but then, you know,
he's an oddity, dear--he _is_ an oddity, though no one may have told you
before--and he never forgave him for his marriage. Your father, I suppose,
knew more about the lady than I did--I was young then--but there were
various reports, none of them pleasant, and she was not visited, and for
some time there was a complete estrangement between your father and your
uncle Silas; and it was made up, rather oddly, on the very occasion which
some people said ought to have totally separated them. Did you ever hear
anything--anything _very_ remarkable--about your uncle?'
'No, never, they would not tell me, though I am sure they know.
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