第39章

“YouneverbroughtdownFigginswhenyouwereatRoughborough；nowI

shouldhavethoughtFigginswouldhavebeenjustthekindofboywhomyoumighthaveaskedtocomeandseeus。”

Figginshadbeengonethroughtimesoutofnumberalready。Ernesthadhardlyknownhim，andFiggins，beingnearlythreeyearsolderthanErnest，hadleftlongbeforehedid。Besideshehadnotbeenaniceboy，andhadmadehimselfunpleasanttoErnestinmanyways。

“Now。”continuedhismother，“there’sTowneley。IhaveheardyouspeakofTowneleyashavingrowedwithyouinaboatatCambridge。

Iwish，mydear，youwouldcultivateyouracquaintancewithTowneley，andaskhimtopayusavisit。Thenamehasanaristocraticsound，andIthinkIhaveheardyousayheisaneldestson。”

ErnestflushedatthesoundofTowneley’sname。

WhathadreallyhappenedinrespectofErnest’sfriendswasbrieflythis。Hismotherlikedtogetholdofthenamesoftheboysandespeciallyofanywhowereatallintimatewithherson；themoresheheard，themoreshewantedtoknow；therewasnogorginghertosatiety；shewaslikearavenousyoungcuckoobeingfeduponagrassplotbyawaterwag-tail，shewouldswallowallthatErnestcouldbringher，andyetbeashungryasbefore。AndshealwayswenttoErnestforhermealsratherthantoJoey，forJoeywaseithermorestupidormoreimpenetrable——atanyrateshecouldpumpErnestmuchthebetterofthetwo。

Fromtimetotimeanactualliveboyhadbeenthrowntoher，eitherbybeingcaughtandbroughttoBattersby，orbybeingaskedtomeetherifatanytimeshecametoRoughborough。Shehadgenerallymadeherselfagreeable，orfairlyagreeable，aslongastheboywaspresent，butassoonasshegotErnesttoherselfagainshechangedhernote。Intowhateverformshemightthrowhercriticismsitcamealwaysintheendtothis，thathisfriendwasnogood，thatErnestwasnotmuchbetter，andthatheshouldhavebroughthersomeoneelse，forthisonewouldnotdoatall。

ThemoreintimatetheboyhadbeenorwassupposedtobewithErnestthemorehewasdeclaredtobenaught，tillintheendhehadhitupontheplanofsaying，concerninganyboywhomheparticularlyliked，thathewasnotoneofhisespecialchums，andthatindeedhehardlyknewwhyhehadaskedhim；buthefoundheonlyfellonScyllaintryingtoavoidCharybdis，forthoughtheboywasdeclaredtobemoresuccessfulitwasErnestwhowasnaughtfornotthinkingmorehighlyofhim。

Whenshehadoncegotholdofanamesheneverforgotit。“AndhowisSo-and-so？”shewouldexclaim，mentioningsomeformerfriendofErnest’swithwhomhehadeithernowquarrelled，orwhohadlongsinceprovedtobeamerecometandnofixedstaratall。HowErnestwishedhehadnevermentionedSo-and-so’sname，andvowedtohimselfthathewouldnevertalkabouthisfriendsinfuture，butinafewhourshewouldforgetandwouldprattleawayasimprudentlyasever；thenhismotherwouldpouncenoiselesslyonhisremarksasabarn-owlpouncesuponamouse，andwouldbringthemupinapelletsixmonthsafterwardswhentheywerenolongerinharmonywiththeirsurroundings。

ThentherewasTheobald。IfaboyorcollegefriendhadbeeninvitedtoBattersby，Theobaldwouldlayhimselfoutatfirsttobeagreeable。Hecoulddothiswellenoughwhenheliked，andasregardstheoutsideworldhegenerallydidlike。Hisclericalneighbours，andindeedallhisneighbours，respectedhimyearlymoreandmore，andwouldhavegivenErnestsufficientcausetoregrethisimprudenceifhehaddaredtohintthathehadanything，howeverlittle，tocomplainof。Theobald’smindworkedinthisway：“Now，IknowErnesthastoldthisboywhatadisagreeablepe