Suddenly, however, when young Ralph was
somewhere about fifteen, his uncle expressed a wish to see him; and,
whether through a latent and real affection, or a feeling of self-rebuke
for previous neglect, he exacted from his brother a reluctant consent
that the youth should dwell in his family, while receiving his education
in a region then better prepared to bestow it with profit to the
student. The two young cousins met in Georgia for the first time, and,
after a brief summer journey together, in which they frequented the most
favorite watering places, Ralph was separated from Edith, whom he had
just begun to love with interest, and despatched to college.
The separation of the son from the father, however beneficial it might
be to the former in certain respects of education, proved fatal to the
latter. He had loved the boy even more than he knew; had learned to live
mostly in the contemplation of the youth's growth and development; and
his absence preyed upon his heart, adding to his sense of defeat in
fortune, and the loneliness and waste of his life.
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