/» 
C 
^ CHILD OF NATURE 
summer sightseers. He was young ; 
there was that air of being on easy 
terms with the world which can 
neither be counterfeited nor con- 
cealed ; his figure, face, bearing, 
manner, and dress bore unmistak- 
able testimony to largeness of op- 
portunity and ripeness of taste. 
From the local point of view he 
was an idler ; for he made no show 
of interest in the farm ; and no one 
saw the trace of any kind of work 
on hands or face. He was simple, 
unaffected, and friendly ; but he 
was even more detached from the 
life of the community than John 
Foster had been. Foster had never 
spoken out ; he had never acquired 
the use of speech ; the new tenant 
[ io2 ] 
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