Families are strong if they stick
together, and if they go to pieces they are weak. I learned one bit of
sense out of that mass of folly they call antiquity; and that was the
story of the old bloke with his twelve sons, and fagot to match. 'Break
'em apart,' he said, and each son broke his stick as easy as shelling
peas. 'Now break the twelve all tied together:' devil a bit could the
duffers break it then. Now we are not twelve, we are but three: easy to
break one or two of us apart, but not the lot together. No; nothing but
death shall break this fagot, for nothing less shall part us three."
He stood like a colossus, and held out his hand to them; they clung round
his neck in a moment, as if to illustrate his words; clung tight, and
blessed him for standing so firm and forbidding them to part.
Mrs. Dodd sighed, after the first burst of enthusiastic affection, and
said: "If he would only go a step further and tell us what to do in
company."
"Ay, there it is," said Julia. "Begin with me. What can I do?"
"Why, paint."
"What, to sell? Oh dear, my daubs are not good enough for that.
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