Mohun.' So that, for their own sake, all would have
preferred the inattentive mornings.
Lily often tried to persuade Claude to allow her to tell her father
how troublesome the boys were, but never with any effect. He once
took up a book he had been using with them, and pointing to the name
in the first page, in writing, which Lily knew full well, 'Henry
Mohun,' she perceived that he meant to convince her that it was
useless to try to dissuade him, as he thought the patience and
forbearance his brother had shown to him must be repaid by his not
shrinking from the task he had imposed upon himself with his young
brothers, though he was often obliged to sit up part of the night to
pursue his own studies.
If Claude had rather injudiciously talked too much to Lilias of 'her
principle,' and thus kept it alive in her mind, yet his example might
have made its fallacy evident. She believed that what she called
love had been the turning point in his character, that it had been
his earnest desire to follow in Henry's steps, and so try to comfort
his father for his loss, that had roused him from his indolence; but
she was beginning to see that nothing but a sense of duty could have
kept up the power of that first impulse for six years.
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