第44章

Others，ofcourse，andnotI，mustdecidethis；butamancandoanythingifhegiveshismindtoit，andthoughIshouldnotcareabouthavingmoremoneyformyownsake，IcareaboutitverymuchwhenIthinkofthegoodIcoulddowithitbysavingsoulsfromsuchhorribletorturehereafter。Why，ifthethingsucceeds，andI

reallycannotseewhatistohinderit，itishardlypossibletoexaggerateitsimportance，northeproportionswhichitmayultimatelyassume。”etc。，etc。

AgainIaskedErnestwhetherhemindedmyprintingthis。Hewinced，butsaid“No，notifithelpsyoutotellyourstory：butdon’tyouthinkitistoolong？”

Isaiditwouldletthereaderseeforhimselfhowthingsweregoinginhalfthetimethatitwouldtakemetoexplainthemtohim。

“Verywellthen，keepitbyallmeans。”

IcontinueturningovermyfileofErnest’slettersandfindasfollows-

“Thanksforyourlast，inanswertowhichIsendyouaroughcopyofaletterIsenttotheTimesadayortwoback。Theydidnotinsertit，butitembodiesprettyfullymyideasontheparochialvisitationquestion，andPryerfullyapprovesoftheletter。Thinkitcarefullyoverandsenditbacktomewhenread，foritissoexactlymypresentcreedthatIcannotaffordtoloseit。

“Ishouldverymuchliketohaveavivavocediscussiononthesematters：Icanonlyseeforcertainthatwehavesufferedadreadfullossinbeingnolongerabletoexcommunicate。Weshouldexcommunicaterichandpooralike，andprettyfreelytoo。Ifthispowerwererestoredtouswecould，Ithink，soonputastoptobyfarthegreaterpartofthesinandmiserywithwhichwearesurrounded。”

TheseletterswerewrittenonlyafewweeksafterErnesthadbeenordained，buttheyarenothingtoothersthathewrotealittlelateron。

InhiseagernesstoregeneratetheChurchofEngland(andthroughthistheuniverse)bythemeanswhichPryerhadsuggestedtohim，itoccurredtohimtotrytofamiliarisehimselfwiththehabitsandthoughtsofthepoorbygoingandlivingamongthem。IthinkhegotthisnotionfromKingsley’s“AltonLocke。”which，HighChurchmanthoughheforthenoncewas，hehaddevouredashehaddevouredStanley’sLifeofArnold，Dickens’snovels，andwhateverotherliterarygarbageofthedaywasmostlikelytodohimharm；atanyrateheactuallyputhisschemeintopractice，andtooklodgingsinAshpitPlace，asmallstreetintheneighbourhoodofDruryLaneTheatre，inahouseofwhichthelandladywasthewidowofacabman。

Thisladyoccupiedthewholegroundfloor。Inthefrontkitchentherewasatinker。Thebackkitchenwaslettoabellows-mender。

OnthefirstfloorcameErnest，withhistworoomswhichhefurnishedcomfortably，foronemustdrawthelinesomewhere。Thetwoupperfloorswereparcelledoutamongfourdifferentsetsoflodgers：therewasatailornamedHolt，adrunkenfellowwhousedtobeathiswifeatnighttillherscreamswokethehouse；abovehimtherewasanothertailorwithawifebutnochildren；thesepeoplewereWesleyans，giventodrinkbutnotnoisy。Thetwobackroomswereheldbysingleladies，whoitseemedtoErnestmustberespectab