He had been a serious-minded man, and
death frightened him as it must frighten anyone who believes that all his
most secret thoughts will be shortly exposed in public. When I read
Ernest the description of how his father used to visit Mrs Thompson at
Battersby, he coloured and said--"that's just what I used to say to Mr
Brookes." Ernest felt that his visits, so far from comforting Mr
Brookes, made him fear death more and more, but how could he help it?
Even Pryer, who had been curate a couple of years, did not know
personally more than a couple of hundred people in the parish at the
outside, and it was only at the houses of very few of these that he ever
visited, but then Pryer had such a strong objection on principle to house
visitations. What a drop in the sea were those with whom he and Pryer
were brought into direct communication in comparison with those whom he
must reach and move if he were to produce much effect of any kind, one
way or the other. Why there were between fifteen and twenty thousand
poor in the parish, of whom but the merest fraction ever attended a place
of worship. Some few went to dissenting chapels, a few were Roman
Catholics; by far the greater number, however, were practically infidels,
if not actively hostile, at any rate indifferent to religion, while many
were avowed Atheists--admirers of Tom Paine, of whom he now heard for the
first time; but he never met and conversed with any of these.
Pages:
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425