They spent Christmas at Vienna, where Julia had heard
that its observance was peculiarly insisted upon, and then
they saw the Tyrol in its heaviest vesture of winter snows,
and beautiful old Basle, where Alfred was crazier
about Holbein than he had been at Munich over Brouwer.
Thorpe looked very carefully at the paintings of both men,
and felt strengthened in his hopes that when Alfred got
a little older he would see that this picture business
was not the thing for a young gentleman with prospects
to go into.
It was at Basle that Thorpe received a letter from London
which directly altered the plans of the party. He had
had several other letters from London which had produced
no such effect. Through Semple, he had followed in outline
the unobtrusive campaign to secure a Special Settlement,
and had learned that the Stock Exchange Committee,
apparently without opposition, had granted one for the
first week in February.
Even this news, tremendously important as it was, did not
prompt Thorpe to interfere with the children's projects.
There was no longer any point in remaining away from London;
there were, indeed, numerous reasons for a prompt return.
But he was loth to deprive the youngsters of that descent
into smiling, sunlit Italy upon which they had so fondly
dwelt in fancy, and after all Semple could do all that was
needful to be done for another month.
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