This happened at about noon, but by the one o'clock dinner-hour
the effect of the confirmation had worn off, and he saw no reason
why he should forego his annual amusement with the bonfire; so he went
with the others and was very valiant till the image was actually
produced and was about to be burnt; then he felt a little
frightened. It was a poor thing enough, made of paper, calico and
straw, but they had christened it The Rev. Theobald Pontifex, and he
had a revulsion of feeling as he saw it being carried towards the
bonfire. Still he held his ground, and in a few minutes when all was
over felt none the worse for having assisted at a ceremony which,
after all, was prompted by a boyish love of mischief rather than by
rancour.
I should say that Ernest had written to his father, and told him
of the unprecedented way in which he was being treated; he even
ventured to suggest that Theobald should interfere for his
protection and reminded him how the story had been got out of him, but
Theobald had had enough of Dr. Skinner for the present; the burning of
the school list had been a rebuff which did not encourage which did
not encourage him to meddle a second time in the internal economics of
Roughborough.
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