第45章

SirPatricktookupthenewspaperwhichhehadbroughtinfromthegarden，andlookedoncemoretoseeifthesurgeonwasattendingtohim。

No!Thesurgeon’sattentionwasabsorbedinhisownsubject。

Therehewasinthesameposition，withhismindstillhardatworkonsomethinginGeoffreywhichatonceinterestedandpuzzledit!“Thatman，“hewasthinkingtohimself，“hascomeherethismorningaftertravelingfromLondonallnight。DoesanyordinaryfatigueexplainwhatIseeinhisface？No!“

“Ourlittlediscussioninthegarden，“resumedSirPatrick，answeringBlanche’sinquiringlookasshebentoverhim，“began，mydear，inaparagraphhereannouncingMr。Delamayn’sforthcomingappearanceinafoot-raceintheneighborhoodofLondon。IholdveryunpopularopinionsastotheathleticdisplayswhicharesomuchinvogueinEnglandjustnow。AnditispossiblethatImayhaveexpressedthoseopinionsalittletoostrongly，intheheatofdiscussion，withgentlemenwhoareopposedtome——Idon’tdoubt，conscientiouslyopposed——onthisquestion。“

AlowgroanofprotestrosefromOne，Two，andThree，inreturnforthelittlecomplimentwhichSirPatrickhadpaidtothem。

“HowaboutrowingandrunningendingintheOldBaileyandthegallows？Yousaidthat，Sir——youknowyoudid!“

Thetwochoralgentlemenlookedateachother，andagreedwiththeprevalentsentiment。“Itcametothat，Ithink，Smith。““Yes，Jones，itcertainlycametothat。“

TheonlytwomenwhostillcarednothingaboutitwereGeoffreyandthesurgeon。Theresatthefirst，stolidlyneutral——indifferentaliketotheattackandthedefense。Therestoodthesecond，pursuinghisinvestigation——withthegrowinginterestinitofamanwhowasbeginningtoseehiswaytotheend。

“Hearmydefense，gentlemen，“continuedSirPatrick，ascourteouslyasever。“Youbelong，remember，toanationwhichespeciallyclaimstopracticetherulesoffairplay。ImustbegtoremindyouofwhatIsaidinthegarden。Istartedwithaconcession。Iadmitted——aseverypersonofthesmallestsensemustadmit——thatamanwill，inthegreatmajorityofcases，beallthefitterformentalexerciseifhewiselycombinesphysicalexercisealongwithit。Thewholequestionbetweenthetwoisaquestionofproportionanddegree，andmycomplaintofthepresenttimeisthatthepresenttimedoesn’tseeit。PopularopinioninEnglandseemstometobe，notonlygettingtoconsiderthecultivationofthemusclesasofequalimportancewiththecultivationofthemind，buttobeactuallyextending——inpractice，ifnotintheory——totheabsurdanddangerouslengthofputtingbodilytraininginthefirstplaceofimportance，andmentaltraininginthesecond。Totakeacaseinpoint：IcandiscovernoenthusiasminthenationanythinglikesogenuineandanythinglikesogeneralastheenthusiasmexcitedbyyourUniversityboat-race。Again：IseethisAthleticEducationofyoursmadeamatterofpubliccelebrationinschoolsandcolleges；andIaskanyunprejudicedwitnesstotellmewhichexcitesmostpopularenthusiasm，andwhichgetsthemostprominentplaceinthepublicjournals——theexhibition，indoors(onPrize-day)，ofwhattheboyscandowiththeirminds？ortheexhibition，outofdoors(onSports-day)，ofwhattheboyscandowiththeirbodies？Youknowperfectlywellwhichperformanceexcitestheloudestcheers，whichoccupiestheprominentplaceinthenewspapers，andwhich，asanecessaryconsequence，confersthehighestsocialhonorsontheherooftheday。“

Ano