Answer:
I agree. Withered, "as though swept by fire," and "once so attractive" create a despairing tone.
Sorry for such late an answer, but I believe its A) Predicate Nominative.
Answer:
The old time is beautiful which is now vanished.
Explanation:
This quote means that there was a beautiful time when there is no advance technology of communication. People send messages through letters and there is a post office in each village and city. We wait for the reply of the letter curiously but that beautiful time is replaced by technology which do our too fast but the love and curiosity present in old times are lost due to these technology. Due to daily interaction of people with each other through advance technology, the love and happiness of meeting friends and relatives after a long time also vanished.
The man was cunningly able to dissemble his feelings on the matter, which saved his family much worry.
