thought of broaching this matter,« he said, with slow utterance,
but still in a tone of perfect friendliness. »Let us put it aside.«
    Warricombe seemed to make an effort, and his next words had the accent of
well-bred consideration which distinguished his ordinary talk.
    »Pray forgive my bad joke. I merely meant that I have no right whatever to
argue with anyone who has given serious attention to such things. They are
altogether beyond my sphere. I was born an agnostic, and no subtlety of
demonstration could incline me for a moment to theological views; my intellect
refuses to admit a single preliminary of such arguments. You astonish me, and
that's all I am justified in saying.«
    »My dear Warricombe, you are justified in saying whatever your mind
suggests. That is one of the principles which I hold unaltered - let me be quite
frank with you. I should never have decided upon such a step as this, but for
the fact that I have managed to put by a small sum of money which will make me
independent for two or three years. Till quite lately I hadn't a thought of
using my freedom in this way; it was clear to me that I must throw over the old
drudgery at Rotherhithe, but this resolve which astonishes you had not yet
ripened - I saw it only as one of the possibilities of my life. Well, now, it's
only too true that there's something of speculation in my purpose; I look to the
Church, not only as a congenial sphere of activity, but as a means of
subsistence. In a man of no fortune this is inevitable; I hope there is nothing
to be ashamed of. Even if the conditions of the case allowed it, I shouldn't
present myself for ordination forthwith; I must study and prepare myself in
quietness. How the practical details will be arranged, I can't say; I have no
family influence, and I must hope to make friends who will open a way for me. I
have always lived apart from society; but that isn't natural to me, and it
becomes more distasteful the older I grow. The probability is that I shall
settle somewhere in the country, where I can live decently on a small income.
After all, it's better I should have let you know this at once. I only realised
a few minutes ago that to be silent about my projects was in a way to be guilty
of false pretences.«
    The adroitness of this last remark, which directed itself