"I am glad you came, my son," said the good Doctor. "I am in need of better company than this foot. Solitude is like water--good for a dip, but you can not live in it. Margaret has been here trying to give me comfort, although she needs it more for herself."
"Margaret!" the boy exclaimed. "Why does she need comfort?"
"Oh, largely on your account, my son! Her father is obdurate and the cause is dear to me. This courtship of yours is taking an international aspect."
He gave his young friend a full account of the night at Lord Howe's and the interviews which had followed it.
"All London knows how I stand now. They will not try again to bribe me. The displeasure of Sir Benjamin will react upon you."
"What shall I do if he continues to be obdurate?"
"Shove my table this way and I'll show you a problem in prudential algebra," said the philosopher. "It's a way I have of setting down all the factors and striking out those that are equal and arriving at the visible result."
With his pen and a sheet of paper he set down the factors in the problem and his estimate of their relative value as follows:
| The Problem. | ||
|---|---|---|
| A father=1 | Margaret, her mother and Jack= | 3+ 1 |
| A patrimony=10 | Happiness for Jack and Margaret= | 100+ 90 |
| Margaret's old friends=1 | Margaret's new friends= | 1 |
| A father's love=1 | A husband's love= | 10+ 9 |
| A father's tyranny=-1 | Your respect for human rights= | 5+ 6 |
| ------- | ||
| 106 | ||
[See the [transcriber's note] at the end of this e-book for more information on the above table.]