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。
InhiseagernesstoregeneratetheChurchofEnglandandthroughthistheuniversebythemeanswhichPryerhadsuggestedtohim,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,whoitseemedtoErnestmustberespectablyconnected,forwell-dressedgentlemanly-lookingyoungmenusedtogoupanddownstairspastErnest’sroomstocallatanyrateonMissSnow——Ernesthadheardherdoorslamaftertheyhadpassed。Hethought,too,thatsomeofthemwentuptoMissMaitland’s。MrsJupp,thelandlady,toldErnestthatthesewerebrothersandcousinsofMissSnow’s,andthatshewasherselflookingoutforasituationasagoverness,butatpresenthadanengagementasanactressattheDruryLaneTheatre。ErnestaskedwhetherMissMaitlandinthetopbackwasalsolookingoutforasituation,andwastoldshewaswantinganengagementasamilliner。
HebelievedwhateverMrsJupptoldhim。
ThismoveonErnest’spartwasvariouslycommenteduponbyhisfriends,thegeneralopinionbeingthatitwasjustlikePontifex,whowassuretodosomethingunusualwhereverhewent,butthatonthewholetheideawascommendable。Christinacouldnotrestrainherselfwhenonsoundingherclericalneighboursshefoundtheminclinedtoapplaudhersonforconductwhichtheyidealisedintosomethingmuchmoreself-denyingthanitreallywas。Shedidnotquitelikehislivinginsuchanunaristocraticneighbourhood;butwhathewasdoingwouldprobablygetintothenewspapers,andthengreatpeoplewouldtakenoticeofhim。Besides,itwouldbeverycheap;downamongthesepoorpeoplehecouldlivefornexttonothing,andmightputbyagreatdealofhisincome。Asfortemptations,therecouldbefewornoneinsuchaplaceasthat。
ThisargumentaboutcheapnesswastheonewithwhichshemostsuccessfullymetTheobald,whogrumbledmoresuothathehadnosympathywithhisson’sextravaganceandconceit。WhenChristinapointedouttohimthatitwouldbecheapherepliedthattherewassomethinginthat。
OnErnesthimselftheeffectwastoconfirmthegoodopinionofhimselfwhichhadbeengrowinguponhimeversincehehadbeguntoreadfororders,andtomakehimflatterhimselfthathewasamongthefewwhowerereadytogiveupALLforChrist。Erelonghebegantoconceiveofhimselfasamanwithamissionandagreatfuture。
Hislightestandmosthastilyformedopinionsbegantobeofmomentousimportancetohim,andheinflictedthem,asIhavealreadyshown,onhisoldfriends,weekbyweekbecomingmoreandmoreentetewithhimselfandhisowncrotchets。Ishouldlikewellenoughtodrawaveiloverthispartofmyhero’scareer,butcannotdosowithoutmarringmystory。
Inthespringof1859Ifindhimwriting-
“IcannotcallthevisibleChurchChristiantillitsfruitsareChristian,thatisuntilthefruitsofthemembersoftheChurchofEnglandareinconformity,orsomethinglikeconformity,withherteaching。IcordiallyagreewiththeteachingoftheChurchofEnglandinmostrespects,butshesaysonethinganddoesanother,anduntilexcommunication——yes,andwholesaleexcommunication——beresortedto,IcannotcallheraChristianinstitution。IshouldbeginwithourRector,andifIfounditnecessarytofollowhimupbyexcommunicatingtheBishop,Ishouldnotflinchevenfromthis。
“ThepresentLondonRectorsarehopelesspeopletodealwith。Myownisoneofthebestofthem,butthemomentPryerandIshowsignsofwantingtoattackanevilinawaynotrecognisedbyroutine,orofremedyinganythingaboutwhichnooutcryhasbeenmade,wearemetwith,’Icannotthinkwhatyoumeanbyallthisdisturbance;nobodyelseamongtheclergyseesthesethings,andI
havenowishtobethefirsttobeginturningeverythingtopsy-
turvy。’Andthenpeoplecallhimasensibleman。Ihavenopatiencewiththem。However,weknowwhatwewant,and,asIwrotetoDawsontheotherday,haveaschemeonfootwhichwill,Ithink,fairlymeettherequirementsofthecase。Butwewantmoremoney,andmyfirstmovetowardsgettingthishasnotturnedoutquitesosatisfactorilyasPryerandIhadhoped;weshall,however,Idoubtnot,retrieveitshortly。”
WhenErnestcametoLondonheintendeddoingagooddealofhouse-
to-housevisiting,butPryerhadtalkedhimoutofthisevenbeforehesettleddowninhisnewandstrangely-chosenapartments。ThelinehenowtookwasthatifpeoplewantedChrist,theymustprovetheirwantbytakingsomelittletrouble,andthetroublerequiredofthemwasthattheyshouldcomeandseekhim,Ernest,out;therehewasinthemidstofthemreadytoteach;ifpeopledidnotchoosetocometohimitwasnofaultofhis。
“Mygreatbusinesshere。”hewritesagaintoDawson,“istoobserve。
Iamnotdoingmuchinparishworkbeyondmyshareofthedailyservices。Ihaveaman’sBibleClass,andaboy’sBibleClass,andagoodmanyyoungmenandboystowhomIgiveinstructiononewayoranother;thentherearetheSundaySchoolchildren,withwhomIfillmyroomonaSundayeveningasfullasitwillhold,andletthemsinghymnsandchants。Theylikethis。Idoagreatdealofreading——chieflyofbookswhichPryerandIthinkmostlikelytohelp;wefindnothingcomparabletotheJesuits。Pryerisathoroughgentleman,andanadmirablemanofbusiness——nolessobservantofthethingsofthisworld,infact,thanofthethingsabove;byabrilliantcouphehasretrieved,ornearlyso,aratherseriouslosswhichthreatenedtodelayindefinitelytheexecutionofourgreatscheme。HeandIdailygatherfreshprinciples。I
believegreatthingsarebeforeme,andamstronginthehopeofbeingablebyandbytoeffectmuch。
“AsforyouIbidyouGodspeed。Beboldbutlogical,speculativebutcautious,daringlycourageous,butproperlycircumspectwithal。”
etc。,etc。
Ithinkthismaydoforthepresent。
IhadcalledonErnestasamatterofcoursewhenhefirstcametoLondon,buthadnotseenhim。Ihadbeenoutwhenhereturnedmycall,sothathehadbeenintownforsomeweeksbeforeIactuallysawhim,whichIdidnotverylongafterhehadtakenpossessionofhisnewrooms。Ilikedhisface,butexceptforthecommonbondofmusic,inrespectofwhichourtastesweresingularlyalike,I
shouldhardlyhaveknownhowtogetonwithhim。TodohimjusticehedidnotairanyofhisschemestomeuntilIhaddrawnhimoutconcerningthem。I,toborrowthewordsofErnest’slandlady,MrsJupp,“amnotaveryregularchurch-goer“——Idiscovereduponcross-