"Will you admit he's a fool?"
"I guess he's a little soft, that's all, and your severity makes him no better."
"Oh, pshaw!" said Smithers. "Spare the rod and spoil the child."
"That's played out."
"Since when?"
"Long ago. Try kindness."
Mr. Smithers grew rather red in the face.
"I have every respect for you," he remarked, looking sideways at the stove. "But I don't see why you should interfere with my family affairs."
"Because I like the lad. Why don't you apprentice him to some one?"
"To whom?"