第48章

“Youthinkyouhave。”saidMrShaw；“youOxfordandCambridgegentlementhinkyouhaveexaminedeverything。Ihaveexaminedverylittlemyselfexceptthebottomsofoldkettlesandsaucepans，butifyouwillanswermeafewquestions，IwilltellyouwhetherornoyouhaveexaminedmuchmorethanIhave。”

Ernestexpressedhisreadinesstobequestioned。

“Then。”saidthetinker，“givemethestoryoftheResurrectionofJesusChristastoldinStJohn’sgospel。”

IamsorrytosaythatErnestmixedupthefouraccountsinadeplorablemanner；heevenmadetheangelcomedownandrollawaythestoneandsituponit。Hewascoveredwithconfusionwhenthetinkerfirsttoldhimwithoutthebookofsomeofhismanyinaccuracies，andthenverifiedhiscriticismsbyreferringtotheNewTestamentitself。

“Now。”saidMrShawgoodnaturedly，“Iamanoldmanandyouareayoungone，soperhapsyou’llnotmindmygivingyouapieceofadvice。Ilikeyou，forIbelieveyoumeanwell，butyou’vebeenrealbadbroughtup，andIdon’tthinkyouhaveeverhadsomuchasachanceyet。Youknownothingofoursideofthequestion，andI

havejustshownyouthatyoudonotknowmuchmoreofyourown，butIthinkyouwillmakeakindofCarlylesortofamansomeday。NowgoupstairsandreadtheaccountsoftheResurrectioncorrectlywithoutmixingthemup，andhaveaclearideaofwhatitisthateachwritertellsus，thenifyoufeelinclinedtopaymeanothervisitIshallbegladtoseeyou，forIshallknowyouhavemadeagoodbeginningandmeanbusiness。Tillthen，Sir，Imustwishyouaverygoodmorning。”

Ernestretreatedabashed。AnhoursufficedhimtoperformthetaskenjoineduponhimbyMrShaw；andattheendofthathourthe“No，no，no。”whichstillsoundedinhisearsashehearditfromTowneley，cameringingupmoreloudlystillfromtheverypagesoftheBibleitself，andinrespectofthemostimportantofalltheeventswhicharerecordedinit。SurelyErnest’sfirstday’sattemptatmorepromiscuousvisiting，andatcarryingouthisprinciplesmorethoroughly，hadnotbeenunfruitful。ButhemustgoandhaveatalkwithPryer。HethereforegothislunchandwenttoPryer’slodgings。Pryernotbeingathome，heloungedtotheBritishMuseumReadingRoom，thenrecentlyopened，sentforthe“VestigesofCreation。”whichhehadneveryetseen，andspenttherestoftheafternooninreadingit。

ErnestdidnotseePryeronthedayofhisconversationwithMrShaw，buthedidsonextmorningandfoundhiminagoodtemper，whichoflatehehadrarelybeen。Sometimes，indeed，hehadbehavedtoErnestinawaywhichdidnotbodewellfortheharmonywithwhichtheCollegeofSpiritualPathologywouldworkwhenithadoncebeenfounded。Italmostseemedasthoughheweretryingtogetacompletemoralascendencyoverhim，soastomakehimacreatureofhisown。

Hedidnotthinkitpossiblethathecouldgotoofar，andindeed，whenIreflectuponmyhero’sfollyandinexperience，thereismuchtobesaidinexcusefortheconclusionwhichPryercameto。

Asamatteroffact，however，itwasnotso。Ernest’sfaithinPryerhadbeentoogreattobeshakendownallinamoment，butithadbeenweakenedlatelymorethanonce。Ernesthadfoughthardagainstallowinghimselftoseethis，neverthelessanythirdpersonwhoknewthepairwouldhavebeenabletoseethattheconnectionbetweenthetwomightendatanymoment，forwhenthetimeforoneofErnest’ssnipe-likechangesofflightcame，hewasquickinmakingit；thetime，however，wasnotyetcome，andtheintimacybetweenthetwowasapparentlyallthatithadeverbeen。Itwasonlythathorridmoneybusiness(sosaidErnesttohimself)thatcausedanyunpleasantnessbetweenthem，andnodoubtPryerwasright，andhe，Ernest，muchtoonervous。However，thatmightst