The Hypocrite
at his friend's traducers-and they were many-had never really got down below the crust of cynicism and surface immorality of mind as he
ace in intellect, but of a blameless lif
wealthy father, he ambled easily through life, enjoying everything, and bein
veryday circumstances, his mind experie
nsciousness-his love for Gobion; and every night he humbly and ear
taring into the fire and talking simply and hopefully about the trials and temptations of a young man's life. Very frankly he had talked with a noblen
they sat alone, and Gobion talked airily with a fa
versation a high purpose and a stainless purity,
value of money, for he would come to him unconcernedly and borrow ten pounds to get out of some
the friend of his soul, albeit that Gobion had had most of his avai
te he lay in bed half dozing, wit
what he would talk about, whether he would wear what he called
ng over the part he would have to play at breakfast, and devising some way of breaking the news of his
bedroom when he noticed that he looked in capital health,
d, but Gobion was nothing if not an art
ting table, and carefully pencilled two dark sepia lines under his eyes, sever
tt's bedroom door opened uncer
jump
to be so slack. I'll be up
I'll go back into th
t they sat for a time in
, the ga
ha
one-ut
do you
ve been in exams, and what a sma
es
e and hopeless, and has taken my name off the book
ever mind, remember we promised to stick to each othe
t some money. I have had some work offered me on
n, you always succeed-look
a p
nty pounds I don't want.
k I will, I owe you too much as it is. I do
d man, you must
l, i
me write you a cheque, you can ca
t his hand and looked him in the face. With wonderful intuition he knew exactly what the other expected,
t to do, but I will have tea here at four and you can come to the station after. My train leaves at 5.30.
e. He strolled up to the bank feeling well fed and happy, and the strangeness of his position induced a plea
ms in Grove Street, where, as he expected, he found
his feet thrust into a venerable pair of dancing pumps with the bows gone, was indignantly
"First this mornin'," he said,
rtevant. These men
When shall
Lane, in three weeks' time, ready for a cam
ren't you afraid of m
risk of that. W
thirty
to the station?
rry off most of their spare cash, I think it would be wiser t
of his favourite phrases, and then raisi
, "the three consonants"; and t
and modest swindle; they had no illusions about each other, but now they a
uch to do to indulge in sentiment. He hoped to
rly knocked down Professor Max Müller, who was carrying a brown paper parcel and walking very fast. The Jap shop-girl in a new hat passed with a smile, and a Christchurch man and rowing blue came out of the "Mi
bion, and he felt strangely moved to think tha
ood there for a moment irresolutely, frowning, and t
a girl sat before the fire with her
sed her. She was a pretty, fresh-looking girl, and would have been prettier s
her on to his knee, smiling at her, and
arms, and began to rattle away in a rather high-pitch
y" (with the accent on the aw) once or twice in nearly every sentence, and it wa
l of hair, thinking what a
ar, I'm go
mean f
aid so,
ered up her forehead. She looked
nderstand,
guvnor has stopped supp
. and we've had such an awfully
began
erplexedly o
I'll write to you and co
.. I l-liked you s-so much bett
fter lunch and arrange things properly. I'm in a
all
ve me a B. and S. I
and went behind the counte
have some fi
naughty li
don't you?"... She looked
ay
had such
ep me going til
oy; well,
ce. Good-bye for t
curtsey. "I shall expec
the door, breathing a sigh o
ut of that," he thought, his cheeks
the worst
ivate chapel of the clergy-hou
innocuous but unnecessary Keble man, and felt incline
ed up-most people's faces
boy? Come in-com
d books littered the floor and chairs, and even invaded two big writing-tables covered with papers. Over the mantelpiece was hung a print of Andrea Mantegna's Adoration o
ood an iron frame, holdin
iests had been in that ro
the various sisterhoods settled, and arrangements made for the
-quarters of what that amusing print The English Churchman wou
Gray said, "You have
answered sadly
s all this? A boy like
p. You know how I have tried to work and lead a decent life; but he won't
or boy!" And the ol
you think you ca
over the first three months. I expect
ou any
avily in debt in
e. You have always been so frank with me, and told me all your troubles
ully good
or five-and-twenty pounds, that will keep you going for a month or two. You kn
very much; I haven't led a very happy life at Oxford, but I have tried ... and you've been
You have not been very bad. Thank God that you are pure and don't drink. God bless you-go out a
people, and the wonderful irrepressible gaiety of the High just before lunch on a fine day cheered him up; and he cashed the second cheque, enj
to college and pac
ings after him. He told his scout he was going down for a few days, and that Mr. Scott of Merton would forward all letters.
position. As far as he could see things were not so very bad; he could probably earn enough by journal
ke into his lungs, smiling at the idea of his morning's work, and won
orbed in our own personality. The clever scoundrel is always an egotist; and
spitting fire, his thoughts turned swiftly into memorie
d led him to pose even to his father and mother; how, when he found out he was clever, he used to lie carefully to conceal hi
ice wholly without remorse, and every now and again he wildly and passionately confessed his sins and turned his back on them, as he thought, for ever.
nd thrilled all the poetry and fervour in him, that he would talk simply and beautifully, and stir his friends into a passion of enthusiasm by his ideals. The gloriousness of youth bound them all together, and in the summer quiet of some old-world college garden the wolf and the lambs held sweet converse, generally in the chosen language of that universit
ene in Europe. Scott's arm in his, and the grey
saw himself as he was. For once he dared to look at his o
r ten men stood on the platform of the
called the "good" set
y pressing him to write and
apers and magazines, and Scott appeared at the door of the r
me most of them saw him. Sadly they said good-
ing Gobion's hand, afraid to speak. Gobion felt a horrible remor
n began
bless you, old un,"
m," said Gobion to himself, lighting a ciga
way, and they s