rgot that."

"Uncle George, you are always very hard on my father; much too hard."

"Am I?"

"I think you are. As regards his duty to me, if I do not complain,
you need not."

"Oh! that is it, is it? I did think that up to this, his remissness
in doing his duty as a father had fallen rather on my shoulders than
on yours. But I suppose I have been mistaken; eh?"

"At any rate, if you have to complain, your complaint should be made
to him, not to me."

"But you see I have not time to run across the world to Jerusalem;
and were I to do so, the chances are ten to one I should not catch
him. If you will ask Pritchett too, you will find that your father is
not the best correspondent in the world. Perhaps he has sent back by
you some answer to Pritchett's half-yearly letters?"

"He has sent nothing by me."

"I'll warrant he has not. But come, George, own the truth. Did he
borrow money from you when he saw you? If he did not, he showed a
very low opinion of your finances and my liberality."

George might have declared, without any absolute falseness, that his
father had borrowed no money of him. But he had not patience at the
present moment to distinguish between what would be false and what
not false in defending his father's character. He could not but
feel that his father had behaved very shabbily to him, and that Sir
Lionel's conduct could not be defended in detail. But he also felt
that his uncle was quite unjustifiable in wounding him by such
attacks. It was not to him that Mr. Bertram should have complained of
Sir Lionel's remissness in money matters. He resolved that he would
not sit by and hear his father so spoken of; and, therefore, utterly
disregardful of what might be the terribly ill effects of his uncle's
anger, he thus spoke out in a tone not of the meekest:--

"I will neither defend my father, Mr. Bertram; nor will I sit still
and hear him so spoken of. How far you may have just ground of
complaint against him, I do not know, nor will I inquire. He is my
father, and that should protect his name in my presence."

"Hoity, toity!"

"I will ask you to hear me if you please, sir. I have received very
many good offices from you, for which I heartily thank you. I am
aware that I owe to you all my education and support up to this time.
This debt I fear I can never pay."

"And therefore, like some other people, you are inclined to resent
it."

"No, by heaven! I would resent nothing said by you to myse