hereafter he usually threw back his shoulders.
The good blood that ran in his veins was astir to-night. The incidents
of the day had aroused him from the peacefulness that lies under a
weight of years (we have to lift the years one by one and lay them aside
before we find it), and Sir John Meredith would have sat very upright in
his chair were it not for that carping pain in his back.
He waited for an hour with his eyes almost continually on the clock, but
Jack never came. Then he rang the bell.
"Coffee," he said. "I like punctuality, if you please."
"Thought Mr. Meredith might be expected, sir," murmured the butler
humbly.
Sir John was reading the evening paper, or appearing to read it,
although he had not his glasses.
"Oblige me by refraining from thought," he said urbanely.
So the coffee was brought, and Sir John consumed it in silent majesty.
While he was pouring out his second cup--of a diminutive size--the bell
rang. He set down the silver coffee-pot with a clatter, as if his nerves
were not quite so good as they used to be. It was not Jack, but a note
from him.
"MY DEAR FATHER,--Circumstances have necessitated the breaking off of my
engagement at the last moment. To-morrow's ceremony will not take place.
As the above-named circumstances were partly under your control, I
need hardly offer an explanation. I leave town and probably England
to-night.--I am, your affectionate son,
"JOHN MEREDITH."
There were no signs of haste or discomposure. The letter was neatly
written in the somewhat large calligraphy, firm, bold, ornate, which Sir
John had insisted on Jack's learning. The stationery bore a club crest.
It was an eminently gentlemanly communication. Sir John read it and
gravely tore it up, throwing it into the fire, where he watched it burn.
Nothing was farther from his mind than sentiment. He was not much given
to sentiment, this hard-hearted old sire of an ancient stock. He never
thought of the apocryphal day when he, being laid in his grave, should
at last win the gratitude of his son.
"When I am dead and gone you may be sorry for it" were not the words
that any man should hear from his lips.
More than once during their lives Lady Cantourne had said:
"You never change your mind, John," referring to one thing or another.
And he had invariably answered:
"No, I am not the sort of man to change."
He had always known his own mind. When he had been
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