Phyllis of Philistia
Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. "THE BISHOP KNEW SOMETHING OF MAN, AND HE KNEW SOMETHING OF THE CHURCH; HE EVEN KNEW SOMETHING OF THE BIBLE." HER father when he came in commended her diligence. He read over those damning extracts, punctuating them with chuckles; he would make an example of that minister who had found it convenient to adopt a course diametrically opposed to the principle involved in his early speeches. He chuckled, reading the extracts while he paced the room, drawing upon his stock of telling phrases, which were calculated to turn the derision of the whole House of Commons upon his opponent. Thus, being very well satisfied with himself, he was satisfied with her, and kissed her, with a sigh. " What a treasure you are to me, dearest one ! " he said. There was a pause before he added, in a contemplative tone:
..." I suppose a clergyman has no need ever to hunt up the past deliverances of another clergyman in order to confound him out of his own month. Ah, no ; I should fancy not." Regret was in his voice. He seemed to suggest to her that he believed her powers would be wasted as the wife of a man who, of course, being a clergyman, could have no enemies. " Dearest papa! " she cried, throwing herself into his arms, and sobbing on his shirt front, " dearest papa, I will not leave you. I don't want to be anyone's wife. I want to be your daughterâ??only to be your daughter." He comforted her with kisses and soothing smooth- ings of the hair. No, no, he said; he would not be selfish. He would remember that a father was the trustee of his child's happiness. " But I know I can only be happy with you, my father ! " she cried ; but it was of no avail. He, being a father and not a mother, was unable to perceive what was in the girl's heart. He considered it quite natural th...
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