It was nine miles as the crow flies, and eleven and a half by road, from Berwick to West Inch, and my heart grew heavy at the weary distance that separated me from my mother; for, mark you, a lad of that age pretends that he has no need of his mother's caresses, but ah, how sad he is when he is taken at his word!
J'avais le coeur gros en pensant à la distance qui me séparait de ma mère. Remarquez, en effet, qu'un garçon de cet âge, tout en prétendant se passer des caresses maternelles, souffre cruellement, hélas! quand on le prend au mot.