第26章

Aletheawasworldly——asworldly，thatistosay，asasisterofTheobald’scouldbe。InherlettertoTheobaldshehadsaidsheknewhowmuchofhisandChristina’sthoughtsweretakenupwithanxietyfortheboy’swelfare。Aletheahadthoughtthishandsomeenough，butChristinahadwantedsomethingbetterandstronger。

“Howcansheknowhowmuchwethinkofourdarling？”shehadexclaimed，whenTheobaldshowedherhissister’sletter。“Ithink，mydear，Aletheawouldunderstandthesethingsbetterifshehadchildrenofherown。”TheleastthatwouldhavesatisfiedChristinawastohavebeentoldthatthereneveryethadbeenanyparentscomparabletoTheobaldandherself。Shedidnotfeeleasythatanallianceofsomekindwouldnotgrowupbetweenauntandnephew，andneithershenorTheobaldwantedErnesttohaveanyallies。JoeyandCharlottewerequiteasmanyalliesasweregoodforhim。Afterall，however，ifAletheachosetogoandliveatRoughborough，theycouldnotwellstopher，andmustmakethebestofit。

Inafewweeks’timeAletheadidchoosetogoandliveatRoughborough。Ahousewasfoundwithafieldandanicelittlegardenwhichsuitedherverywell。“Atanyrate。”shesaidtoherself，“Iwillhavefresheggsandflowers。”Sheevenconsideredthequestionofkeepingacow，butintheenddecidednottodoso。

Shefurnishedherhousethroughoutanew，takingnothingwhateverfromherestablishmentinGowerStreet，andbyMichaelmas——forthehousewasemptywhenshetookit——shewassettledcomfortably，andhadbeguntomakeherselfathome。

OneofMissPontifex’sfirstmoveswastoaskadozenofthesmartestandmostgentlemanlyboystobreakfastwithher。Fromherseatinchurchshecouldseethefacesoftheupper-formboys，andsoonmadeuphermindwhichofthemitwouldbebesttocultivate。

MissPontifex，sittingoppositetheboysinchurch，andreckoningthemupwithherkeeneyesfromunderherveilbyallawoman’scriteria，cametoatruerconclusionaboutthegreaternumberofthoseshescrutinizedthanevenDrSkinnerhaddone。Shefellinlovewithoneboyfromseeinghimputonhisgloves。

MissPontifex，asIhavesaid，gotholdofsomeoftheseyoungstersthroughErnest，andfedthemwell。Noboycanresistbeingfedwellbyagood-naturedandstillhandsomewoman。Boysareverylikenicedogsinthisrespect——givethemaboneandtheywilllikeyouatonce。Aletheaemployedeveryotherlittleartificewhichshethoughtlikelytowintheirallegiancetoherself，andthroughthistheircountenanceforhernephew。Shefoundthefootballclubinaslightmoneydifficultyandatoncegavehalfasovereigntowardsitsremoval。Theboyshadnochanceagainsther，sheshotthemdownoneafteranotheraseasilyasthoughtheyhadbeenroostingpheasants。Nordidsheescapescathlessherself，for，asshewrotetome，shequitelostherhearttohalfadozenofthem。“Howmuchnicertheyare。”shesaid，“andhowmuchmoretheyknowthanthosewhoprofesstoteachthem！”

Ibelieveithasbeenlatelymaintainedthatitistheyoungandfairwhoarethetrulyoldandtrulyexperienced，inasmuchasitistheywhoalonehavealivingmemorytoguidethem；“thewholecharm。”ithasbeensaid，“ofyouthliesinitsadvantageoverageinrespectofexperience，andwhenthishasforsomereasonfailedorbeenmisapplied，thecharmisbroken。Whenwesaythatwearegettingold，weshouldsayratherthatwearegettingneworyoung，andaresufferingfrominexperience；tryingtodothingswhichwehaveneverdonebefore，andfailingworseandworse，tillintheendwearelandedintheutterimpotenceofdeath。”

MissPontifexdiedmanyalongyearbeforetheabovepassagewaswritten，butshehadarrivedindependentlyatmuchthesameconclusion。

Shefirst，therefore，squaredtheboys。DrSkinnerwasevenmoreeasilydealt