Ernest's friends thought his dislike for
Simeonites was due to his being the son of a clergyman who, it was
known, bullied him; it is more likely, however, that it rose from an
unconscious sympathy with them, which, as in St. Paul's case, in the
end drew him into the ranks of those whom be had most despised and
hated.
CHAPTER XLVIII
ONCE recently, when he was down at home after taking his degree, his
mother had had a short conversation with him about his becoming a
clergyman, set on thereto by Theobald, who shrank from the subject
himself. This time it was during a turn taken in the garden, and not
on the sofa- which was reserved for supreme occasions.
"You know, my dearest boy," she said to him, "that papa" (she always
called Theobald "papa" when talking to Ernest) "is so anxious you
should not go into the Church blindly, and without fully realising the
difficulties of a clergyman's position. He has considered all of
them himself, and has been shown how small they are, when they are
faced boldly, but he wishes you, too, to feel them as strongly and
completely as possible before committing yourself to irrevocable vows,
so that you may never, never have to regret the step you will have
taken.
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