Vandover was still very young and would be entirely alone in Paris, ignorant of the language, exposed to every temptation.

Besides this, his education would stop where it was.

Somehow he could not make it seem right to him to cut the young man adrift in this fashion.

On the other hand, the Old Gentleman had a great many old-time friends and business acquaintances in Boston who could be trusted with a nominal supervision of his son for four years.

He had no college education himself, but in some vague way he felt convinced that Vandover would be a better artist for a four years' course at Harvard.
Vandover took his father's decision hardly.