The letter ran thus:--
"To my son Ernest,--Although you have more than once rejected my
overtures I appeal yet again to your better nature. Your mother, who
has long been ailing, is, I believe, near her end; she is unable to
keep anything on her stomach, and Dr Martin holds out but little hopes
of her recovery. She has expressed a wish to see you, and says she
knows you will not refuse to come to her, which, considering her
condition, I am unwilling to suppose you will.
"I remit you a Post Office order for your fare, and will pay your
return journey.
"If you want clothes to come in, order what you consider suitable, and
desire that the bill be sent to me; I will pay it immediately, to an
amount not exceeding eight or nine pounds, and if you will let me know
what train you will come by, I will send the carriage to meet you.
Believe me, Your affectionate father, T. PONTIFEX."
Of course there could be no hesitation on Ernest's part. He could afford
to smile now at his father's offering to pay for his clothes, and his
sending him a Post Office order for the exact price of a second-class
ticket, and he was of course shocked at learning the state his mother was
said to be in, and touched at her desire to see him.
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