England -- Social life and customs -- 20th century -- Fiction; English fiction -- 20th century; Journalists -- Fiction
“He believes in everything. I believe in nothing,” Arnold explained. “He
accepts; I refuse. He likes three lumps of sugar in his tea; I like
none. He had better be a journalist, and write for the _Daily Mail_, the
_Clarion_, and the _Spectator_.”
“What _are_ you going to do when you go down?” Margery asked Eddy,
suspiciously.
Eddy blushed, because he was going for a time to work in a Church
settlement. A man he knew was a clergyman there, and had convinced him
that it was his duty and he must. The Denisons did not care about Church
settlements, only secular ones; that, and because he had a clear, pale
skin that showed everything, was why he blushed.
“I’m going to work with some men in Southwark,” he said, embarrassed.
“Anyhow, for a time. Help with boys’ clubs, you know, and so on.”
“Parsons?” inquired Arnold, and Eddy admitted it, where upon Arnold
changed the subject; he had no concern with Parsons.
The Denisons were so shocked at Eddy, that they let the Hall man talk
about the South African match for quite two minutes. They were probably
afraid that if they didn’t Eddy might talk about the C.I.C.C.U., which
would be infinitely worse. Eddy was perhaps the only man at the moment
in Cambridge who belonged simultaneously to the C.I.C.C.U., the Church
Society, and the Heretics. (It may be explained for the benefit of the
uninitiated that the C.I.C.C.U. is Low Church, and the Church Society is
High Church, and the Heretics is no church at all. They are all
admirable societies).
Arnold said presently, interrupting the match, “If I keep a second-hand
bookshop in Soho, will you help me, Eddy?”
Eddy said he would like to.
“It will be awfully good training for both of us,” said Arnold. “You’ll
see much more life that way, you know, than at your job in Southwark.”
Arnold had manfully overcome his distaste for alluding to Eddy’s job in
Southwark, in order to make a last attempt to snatch a brand from the
burning.
But Eddy, thinking he might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb,
said,
“You see, my people rather want me to take Orders, and the Southwark job
is by way of finding out if I want to or not. I’m nearly sure I don’t,
you know,” he added, apologetically, because the Denisons were looking
so badly disappointed in him.
Mrs. Denison said kindly, “I think I should tell your people straight
out that you can’t. It’s a tiresome little jar, I know, but honestly, I
don’t believe it’s a bit of use members of a family pretending that they
see life from the same angle when they don’t.”
Eddy said, “Oh, but I think we do, in a way. Only----”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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