第29章

Ineverbelievedintheproject，andhaveseennoreasontoaltermyoriginalopinion。Iamnotsorryforyourownsake，thatitistobeatanend，nor，Iamsure，willyouregretityourselfinafteryears。

“Afewwordsmoreasregardsyourownprospects。Youhave，asI

believeyouknow，asmallinheritance，whichisyourslegallyunderyourgrandfather’swill。Thisbequestwasmadeinadvertently，and，Ibelieve，entirelythroughamisunderstandingonthelawyer’spart。

Thebequestwasprobablyintendednottotakeeffecttillafterthedeathofyourmotherandmyself；nevertheless，asthewillisactuallyworded，itwillnowbeatyourcommandifyoulivetobetwenty-oneyearsold。Fromthis，however，largedeductionsmustbemade。Therewillbelegacyduty，andIdonotknowwhetherIamnotentitledtodeducttheexpensesofyoureducationandmaintenancefrombirthtoyourcomingofage；Ishallnotinalllikelihoodinsistonthisrighttothefull，ifyouconductyourselfproperly，butaconsiderablesumshouldcertainlybededucted，therewillthereforeremainverylittle——say1000poundsor2000poundsattheoutside，aswhatwillbeactuallyyours——butthestrictestaccountshallberenderedyouinduetime。

“This，letmewarnyoumostseriously，isallthatyoumustexpectfromme(evenErnestsawthatitwasnotfromTheobaldatall)atanyratetillaftermydeath，whichforaughtanyofusknowmaybeyetmanyyearsdistant。Itisnotalargesum，butitissufficientifsupplementedbysteadinessandearnestnessofpurpose。YourmotherandIgaveyouthenameErnest，hopingthatitwouldremindyoucontinuallyof——“butIreallycannotcopymoreofthiseffusion。Itwasallthesameoldwill-shakinggameandcamepracticallytothis，thatErnestwasnogood，andthatifhewentonashewasgoingonnow，hewouldprobablyhavetogoaboutthestreetsbeggingwithoutanyshoesorstockingssoonafterhehadleftschool，oratanyrate，college；andthathe，Theobald，andChristinawerealmosttoogoodforthisworldaltogether。

AfterhehadwrittenthisTheobaldfeltquitegood-natured，andsenttotheMrsThompsonofthemomentevenmoresoupandwinethanherusualnotilliberalallowance。

Ernestwasdeeply，passionatelyupsetbyhisfather’sletter；tothinkthatevenhisdearaunt，theonepersonofhisrelationswhomhereallyloved，shouldhaveturnedagainsthimandthoughtbadlyofhimafterall。Thiswastheunkindestcutofall。InthehurryofherillnessMissPontifex，whilethinkingonlyofhiswelfare，hadomittedtomakesuchsmallpresentmentionofhimaswouldhavemadehisfather’sinnuendoesstingless；andherillnessbeinginfectious，shehadnotseenhimafteritsnaturewasknown。ImyselfdidnotknowofTheobald’sletter，northinkenoughaboutmygodsontoguesswhatmighteasilybehisstate。ItwasnottillmanyyearsafterwardsthatIfoundTheobald’sletterinthepocketofanoldportfoliowhichErnesthadusedatschool，andinwhichotheroldlettersandschooldocumentswerecollectedwhichIhaveusedinthisbook。Hehadforgottenthathehadit，buttoldmewhenhesawitthatheremembereditasthefirstthingthatmadehimbegintoriseagainsthisfatherinarebellionwhichherecognisedasrighteous，thoughhedarednotopenlyavowit。Nottheleastseriousthingwasthatitwould，hefeared，behisdutytogiveupthelegacyhisgrandfatherhadlefthim；forifitwashisonlythroughamistake，howcouldhekeepit？

DuringtherestofthehalfyearErnestwaslistlessandunhappy。

Hewasveryfondofsomeofhisschoolfellows，