would take for the hole near the toe to work down to the hole under the
instep, and thus render problematical the possibility of keeping the
shoe on at all. It might take three weeks, or, say at the utmost, a
month; one month from the present time. It was at the present time about
the 15th of June, the 14th or the 15th, say the 15th! Well, then, on the
15th of July the slipper would be worn out; in all human probability the
weather would be even hotter then than it was now; and yet, in the face
of that heat he would be obliged to go over to the village, get Jonas
Hastings to fit him with a new pair, and then go through the long agony
of breaking them in! At the thought, great drops formed on the old
gentleman's nose, and ran suddenly down into his white mustache.

But this digression of thought was but superficial, and the sense that
something serious underlaid it remained always latent. The professor
leaned back in his chair, and sighed again heavily. It was true that he
was growing old, and now that he contemplated action, he felt that in
the last nine years the inertia of age had gained upon him. Besides, he
greatly loved his daughters, and though it is easy to say that the
greatest love is the greatest unselfishness, yet do we find a weakness
in our hearts which we cannot believe wholly wrong, strongly prompting
us to yearn and cling--even unwisely--to those who have our best
affection. "And what seems wise to-day may be proved folly to-morrow,"
is our argument, "so let us cling to the good we have."

And Professor Valeyon well knew that what time his daughters departed to
visit the outer world was likely to be the beginning of a longer journey
than to Boston or New York. They were attractive, and, it was to be
supposed, liable to be attracted; he would not be so weak as to imagine
that their love for their father could long remain supreme. But this old
man, who had kept abreast of the learning of the world, and was scarred