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It would be a pleasure to work with a man like Brother Hanley. I will have a word with him to-morrow.
    The only thing is, but, said Brinsley, it will be some time before I am qualified and get my parchment.
    Never mind, said my uncle, it is always well to be in early. First come, first called.
    At this point he assembled his features into an expression of extreme secrecy and responsibility:
    The Order, of course, is always on the look-out for boys of education and character. Tell me this, Mr. Brinsley, have you ever...
    I never thought of that, said Brinsley in surprise.
    Do you think would the religious life appeal to you?
    I'm afraid I never thought much about it.
    Brinsley's tone was of a forced texture as if he were labouring in the stress of some emotion.
    It is a good healthy life and a special crown at the end of it, said my uncle. Every boy should consider it very carefully before he decides to remain out in the world. He should pray to God for a vocation.
    Not everybody is called, I ventured from the bed.
    Not everybody is called, agreed my uncle, perfectly true. Only a small and a select band.
    Perceiving then that the statement had come from me, he looked sharply in the direction of my corner as if to verify the honesty of my face. He turned back to Brinsley.
    I want you to make me a promise, Mr. Brinsley, he said. Will you promise me that you will think about it?
    I will certainly, said Brinsley.
    My uncle smiled warmly and held out a hand.
    Good, he said. God bless you.
    Description of my uncle: Rat-brained, cunning, concerned-that-he-should-be-well-thought-of. Abounding in pretence, deceit. Holder of Guinness clerkship the third class.
    In a moment he was gone, this time without return. Brinsley, a shadow by the window, performed perfunctorily the movements of a mime, making at the same time a pious ejaculation.
    Nature of mime and ejaculation: Removal of sweat from brow; holy God.
    I hope, said Brinsley, that Trellis is not a replica of the uncle.
    I did not answer but reached a hand to the mantelpiece and took down the twenty-first volume of my Conspectus of the Arts and Natural Sciences . Opening it, I read a passage which I subsequently embodied in my manuscript as being suitable for my purpose. The passage had in fact reference to Doctor Beatty (now with God) but boldly I took it for my own.
    Extract from "A Conspectus of the Arts and Natural Sciences," being a further description of Trellis's person, and with a reference to a failing: In person he was of the middle size, of a broad square make, which seemed to indicate a more robust constitution than he really possessed. In his gait there was something of a slouch. During his later years he grew corpulent and unwieldy; his features were very regular and his complexion somewhat high. His eyes were black, brilliant, full of a tender and melancholy expression, and, in the course of conversation with his friends, became extremely animated. It is with regret that it is found expedient to touch upon a reported failing of so great a man. It has been asserted that towards the close of his life he indulged to excess in the use of wine. In a letter to Mr. Arbuthnot he says: With the present pressure upon my mind, I should not be able to sleep if I did not use wine as an opiate; it is less hurtful than laudanum but not so effectual. Conclusion of extract from letter to Mr. Arbuthnot. He may, perhaps, have had too frequent a recourse to so palatable a medicine, in the hope of banishing for a time the recollection of his sorrows; and if, under any circumstances, such a fault is to be regarded as venial, it may be excused in one who was a more than widowed husband and a childless father. Some years after his son's death, he occupied himself in the melancholy yet pleasing task of editing a volume of the compositions of the deceased. From a pardonable partiality for the writings of a beloved child, and from his own not very accurate attainments in classical scholarship, he