Aylwin, is it possible that the anniversary of a day so
momentous for the world is forgotten--forgotten by the very issue of
the great man's loins?'
'The fact is,' said I, in some confusion, 'I have been living with
the Gypsies, and, you see, Mr. Wilderspin, the passage of time--'
'The son of Philip Aylwin a Gypsy!' murmured Wilderspin meditatively,
and unconscious evidently that he was speaking aloud--'a Gypsy! Still
it would surely be a mistake to suppose,' he continued, perfectly
oblivious now of my presence, 'that the vagaries of his son can
really bring shame upon the head of the father.'
'But, by God!' I cried, 'it is no mistake that the vagaries of the
father can bring shame and sorrow and misery upon the child. I could
name a couple of fathers--sleeping very close to each other
now--whose vagaries--'
My sudden anger was carrying me away; but I stopped, recollecting
myself.
'Doubtless,' said Wilderspin, 'there are fathers and fathers. The son
of Philip Aylwin has assuredly a right to be critical in regard to
all other fathers than his own.
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