.

.

." these phrases recurred to his memory, with disagreeable significance.

Was that in truth a picture of his son, of the boy whom he had loved and watched over and so zealously hoped for?
Possibly he wronged Dyce, for the young man's mind and heart had long ceased to be clearly legible to him.

"Worst, perhaps, of all these frequent traits is the affectation of--to use a silly word--altruism.