"It is a shame, isn't it?" she said to me afterwards, with feeling.
"Nothing to be done?" I inquired.
"Nothing," said she. "I knew there wasn't before I started. The dad
would never hear of me earning my own living."
The two elder girls--twins--had no leaning towards music, and no
leaning towards anything save family affection and social engagements.
They had a grand time, and the grander the time they had the keener
was the delight of Mr. Alpha in their paradisaical existence. Truly he
was a pearl among fathers. The children themselves admitted it, and
children can judge. The second son wished to be a painter. Many a
father would have said, "I shall stand none of this nonsense about
painting. The business is there, and into the business you'll go." But
not Mr. Alpha. What Mr. Alpha said to his second son amounted to this:
"I shall be charmed for a son of mine to be a painter. Go ahead. Don't
worry. Don't hurry. I will give you an ample allowance to keep you
afloat through the years of struggle. You shall not be like other
beginners. You shall have nothing to think of but your profession. You
shall be in a position to wait. Instead of you running after the
dealers, you shall comfortably bide your time until the dealers run
after you.
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