"
Mr. Allanby smiled. He had come rather against his own inclinations;
but his wife had urged him to speak to Mrs. Walsham, her temper being
ruffled by the disappearance of two favourite pigeons, whose loss she,
without a shadow of evidence, most unjustly put down to James Walsham.
The parson was by no means strict with his flock. He was a tall man,
inclined to be portly, a good shot and an ardent fisherman; and
although he did not hunt, he was frequently seen on his brown cob at
the meet, whenever it took place within a reasonable distance of
Sidmouth; and without exactly following the hounds, his knowledge of
the country often enabled him to see more of the hunt than those who
did.
As Mrs. Walsham spoke, the memory of his old school and college days
came across him.
"That is the argumentum ad hominem, Mrs. Walsham, and when a lady takes
to that we can say no more. You know I like your boy. There is much
that is good in him; but it struck me that you were letting him run a
little too wild. However, there is much in what you say, and I don't
believe that he is concerned in half the mischief that he gets credit
for. Still, you must remember that a little of the curb, just a little,
is good for us all.
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