The Youth of Parnassus, and Other Stories — John Shaqi
The Youth of Parnassus, and Other StoriesSmith, Logan Pearsall
General
The Youth of Parnassus, and Other Stories
Smith, Logan Pearsall
Short stories; University of Oxford -- Fiction
"Do come here," he called out with a friendly impulse, turning his head
into the yellow light of the room, "I don't think I ever saw such a
view."
The American came and leaned beside him at the open window. "Yes, it is
nice," he said at length, and Foley was surprised by a fugitive sound of
real feeling and appreciation in his voice.
III.
Gradually he came to take a more real interest in his neighbour. The
books that Sutton read, Sutton's love of poetry--surprised him; little
things he would say now and then seemed to show indications of sensitive
fancies and shy feelings hardly in accordance with his dry exterior.
What a thing it would be for him, Foley thought, if the poor young
man's taste could be really cultivated; if he could only be set free
from his narrowing ideas and made to look at life for himself, instead
of seeing it always through the grey fog of Puritan prejudice!
Sutton took everything that Foley said with delightful seriousness; the
well-worn arguments against Democracy and Republicanism were new to him,
and seemed to puzzle him--he would come days afterwards with carefully
thought-out answers to them. Or he would give his friend tracts to read,
as if he was worried by Foley's ritualistic tastes, and hoped to convert
him to Methodism; and once he persuaded him to go and hear Dr. Joseph
preach. Foley was really impressed by the good sense and vigour of
Sutton's master, but to Sutton himself he criticized what he thought a
want of beauty in the service.
And it was only once that Foley felt even for a moment the least
uncomfortable about the things he said to his friend--one evening when
he happened to run upstairs with some specious argument about the
Apostolic Succession, (for when an idea occurred to him he liked to make
use of it at once,) and going into the American's room, he found him on
his knees in prayer.
In that old place--for St. Mary's was not one of the more liberal
Colleges, but a sleepy, ancient, aristocratic society, very conservative
of its own beliefs and manners and prejudices--Eliaphet Sutton lived on
at first, unknown to almost everybody, and only noticed for the oddness
of his looks, as he went in and out to his lectures or solitary walks.
But after a while Foley's interest in him, and his own shy charm
of manner, gained him a more friendly welcome in the College, and
little by little he began to modify, it was remarked, the quaint
unconventionalities of his speech and ways.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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