His birthday happened that year (1863) to be
on a Sunday, but on the following day I transferred his shares into
his own name, and presented him with the account books which he had
been keeping for the last year and a half.
In spite of all that I had done to prepare him, it was a long
while before I could get him actually to believe that the money was
his own. He did not say much- no more did I, for I am not sure that
I did not feel as much moved at having brought my long trusteeship
to a satisfactory conclusion as Ernest did at finding himself owner of
more than L70,000. When he did speak it was to jerk out a sentence
or two of reflection at a time. "If I were rendering this moment in
music," he said, "I should allow myself free use of the augmented
sixth." A little later I remember his saying with a laugh that had
something of a family likeness to his aunt's: "It is not the
pleasure it causes me which I enjoy so, it is the pain it will cause
to all my friends except yourself and Towneley."
I said: "You cannot tell your father and mother- it would drive them
mad."
"No, no, no," said he, "it would be too cruel; it would be like
Isaac offering up Abraham and no thicket with a ram in it near at
hand.
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