第23章

MeanwhiletheboyhimselfwasstillsittingmoodilybeforethefireinMrsJay’sroom。“PapaandMamma。”hewassayingtohimself，“aremuchbetterandclevererthananyoneelse，but，I，alas！shallneverbeeithergoodorclever。”

MrsPontifexcontinued-

“PerhapsitwouldbebesttogetyoungFigginsonavisittoourselvesfirst。Thatwouldbecharming。Theobaldwouldnotlikeit，forhedoesnotlikechildren；ImustseehowIcanmanageit，foritwouldbesonicetohaveyoungFiggins——orstay！ErnestshallgoandstaywithFigginsandmeetthefutureLordLonsford，whoIshouldthinkmustbeaboutErnest’sage，andthenifheandErnestweretobecomefriendsErnestmightaskhimtoBattersby，andhemightfallinlovewithCharlotte。IthinkwehavedoneMOST

WISELYinsendingErnesttoDrSkinner’s。DrSkinner’spietyisnolessremarkablethanhisgenius。Onecantellthesethingsataglance，andhemusthavefeltitaboutmenolessstronglythanI

abouthim。IthinkheseemedmuchstruckwithTheobaldandmyself——

indeed，Theobald’sintellectualpowermustimpressanyone，andI

wasshowing，Idobelieve，tomybestadvantage。WhenIsmiledathimandsaidIleftmyboyinhishandswiththemostentireconfidencethathewouldbeaswellcaredforasifhewereatmyownhouse，Iamsurehewasgreatlypleased。Ishouldnotthinkmanyofthemotherswhobringhimboyscanimpresshimsofavourably，orsaysuchnicethingstohimasIdid。MysmileissweetwhenIdesiretomakeitso。Ineverwasperhapsexactlypretty，butIwasalwaysadmittedtobefascinating。DrSkinnerisaveryhandsomeman——toogoodonthewholeIshouldsayforMrsSkinner。Theobaldsaysheisnothandsome，butmenarenojudges，andhehassuchapleasantbrightface。Ithinkmybonnetbecameme。AssoonasIgethomeIwilltellChamberstotrimmyblueandyellowmerinowith——“etc。，etc。

AllthistimetheletterwhichhasbeengivenabovewaslyinginChristina’sprivatelittleJapanesecabinet，readandre-readandapprovedofmanytimesover，nottosay，ifthetruthwereknown，rewrittenmorethanonce，thoughdatedasinthefirstinstance——andthis，too，thoughChristinawasfondenoughofajokeinasmallway。

Ernest，stillinMrsJay’sroommusedonward。“Grown-uppeople。”hesaidtohimself，“whentheywereladiesandgentlemen，neverdidnaughtythings，buthewasalwaysdoingthem。Hehadheardthatsomegrown-uppeoplewereworldly，whichofcoursewaswrong，stillthiswasquitedistinctfrombeingnaughty，anddidnotgetthempunishedorscolded。HisownPapaandMammawerenotevenworldly；

theyhadoftenexplainedtohimthattheywereexceptionallyunworldly；hewellknewthattheyhadneverdoneanythingnaughtysincetheyhadbeenchildren，andthatevenaschildrentheyhadbeennearlyfaultless。Oh！howdifferentfromhimself！WhenshouldhelearntolovehisPapaandMammaastheyhadlovedtheirs？Howcouldhehopeevertogrowuptobeasgoodandwiseasthey，oreventolerablygoodandwise？Alas！never。Itcouldnotbe。HedidnotlovehisPapaandMamma，inspiteofalltheirgoodnessbothinthemselvesandtohim。HehatedPapa，anddidnotlikeMamma，andthiswaswhatnonebutabadandungratefulboywoulddoafterallthathadbeendoneforhim。BesideshedidnotlikeSunday；hedidnotlikeanythingthatwasreallygood；histasteswerelowandsuchashewasashamedof。Helikedpeoplebestiftheysometimessworealittle，solongasitwasnotathim。AsforhisCatechismandBiblereadingshehadnoheartinthem。Hehadneverattendedtoasermoninhislife。EvenwhenhehadbeentakentohearMrVaughanatBrighton，who，aseveryoneknew，preachedsuchbeautifulsermonsforchildren，hehadbeenverygladwhenitwasallover，nordidhebelievehecouldgetthroughchurchatallifitwasnotforthevol