Not having his eldest brotherâs force of character, he was more sad than angry. His great comfort was to go to Winifredâs, and take the little Darties in his carriage over to Kensington Gardens, and there, by the Round Pond, he could often be seen walking with his eyes fixed anxiously on little Publius Dartieâs sailing-boat, which he had himself freighted with a penny, as though convinced that it would never again come to shore; while little Publiusâ âwho, James delighted to say, was not a bit like his father skipping along under his lee, would try to get him to bet another that it never would, having found that it always did. And James would make the bet; he always paidâ âsometimes as many as three or four pennies in the afternoon, for the game seemed never to pall on little Publiusâ âand always in paying he said: âNow, thatâs for your money-box. Why, youâre getting quite a rich man!â The thought of his little grandsonâs growing wealth was a real pleasure to him. But little Publius knew a sweet-shop, and a trick worth two of that.
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