TheforegoinglettershowshowmuchgreaterwasChristina’sanxietyfortheeternalthanforthetemporalwelfareofhersons。Onewouldhavethoughtshehadsowedenoughofsuchreligiouswildoatsbythistime，butshehadplentystilltosow。Tomeitseemsthatthosewhoarehappyinthisworldarebetterandmorelovablepeoplethanthosewhoarenot，andthatthusintheeventofaResurrectionandDayofJudgement，theywillbethemostlikelytobedeemedworthyofaheavenlymansion。PerhapsadimunconsciousperceptionofthiswasthereasonwhyChristinawassoanxiousforTheobald’searthlyhappiness，orwasitmerelyduetoaconvictionthathiseternalwelfarewassomuchamatterofcourse，thatitonlyremainedtosecurehisearthlyhappiness？Hewasto“findhissonsobedient，affectionate，attentivetohiswishes，self-denyinganddiligent。”agoodlystringforsoothofallthevirtuesmostconvenienttoparents；hewasnevertohavetoblushforthefolliesofthose“whoowedhimsuchadebtofgratitude。”and“whosefirstdutyitwastostudyhishappiness。”Howlikematernalsolicitudeisthis！Solicitudeforthemostpartlesttheoffspringshouldcometohavewishesandfeelingsofitsown，whichmayoccasionmanydifficulties，fanciedorreal。Itisthisthatisatthebottomofthewholemischief；butwhetherthislastpropositionisgrantedorno，atanyrateweobservethatChristinahadasufficientlykeenappreciationofthedutiesofchildrentowardstheirparents，andfeltthetaskoffulfillingthemadequatelytobesodifficultthatshewasverydoubtfulhowfarErnestandJoeywouldsucceedinmasteringit。Itisplaininfactthathersupposedpartingglanceuponthemwasoneofsuspicion。ButtherewasnosuspicionofTheobald；thatheshouldhavedevotedhislifetohischildren——whythiswassuchamereplatitude，asalmosttogowithoutsaying。
How，letmeask，wasitpossiblethatachildonlyalittlepastfiveyearsold，trainedinsuchanatmosphereofprayersandhymnsandsumsandhappySundayevenings——tosaynothingofdailyrepeatedbeatingsoverthesaidprayersandhymns，etc。，aboutwhichourauthoressissilent——howwasitpossiblethataladsotrainedshouldgrowupinanyhealthyorvigorousdevelopment，eventhoughinherownwayhismotherwasundoubtedlyveryfondofhim，andsometimestoldhimstories？CantheeyeofanyreaderfailtodetectthecomingwrathofGodasabouttodescendupontheheadofhimwhoshouldbenurturedundertheshadowofsuchaletterastheforegoing？
IhaveoftenthoughtthattheChurchofRomedoeswiselyinnotallowingherprieststomarry。CertainlyitisamatterofcommonobservationinEnglandthatthesonsofclergymenarefrequentlyunsatisfactory。Theexplanationisverysimple，butissooftenlostsightofthatImayperhapsbepardonedforgivingithere。
TheclergymanisexpectedtobeakindofhumanSunday。Thingsmustnotbedoneinhimwhicharevenialintheweek-dayclasses。Heispaidforthisbusinessofleadingastricterlifethanotherpeople。
Itishisraisond’etre。Ifhisparishionersfeelthathedoesthis，theyapproveofhim，fortheylookuponhimastheirowncontributiontowardswhattheydeemaholylife。Thisiswhytheclergymanissooftencalledavicar——hebeingthepersonwhosevicariousgoodnessistostandforthatofthoseentrustedtohischarge。ButhishomeishiscastleasmuchasthatofanyotherEnglishman，andwithhim，aswithothers，unnaturaltensioninpublicisfollowedbyexhaustionwhentensionisnolongernecessary。Hischildrenarethemostdefencelessthingshecanreach，anditisontheminninecasesoutoftenthathewillrelievehismind。
Aclergyman，again，canhardlyeverallowhimselftolookfactsfairlyintheface。Itishisprofessiontosupportoneside；itisimpossible，therefore，forhimtomakeanunbiassedexaminationoftheother。
Weforgetthateveryclergymanwithalivingorcuracy，isasmuchapaidadvocateasthebarristerwhoistryingtopersuadeajurytoacquitaprisoner。Weshouldlistentohimwiththesamesuspenseofjudgment，thesamefullconsiderationoftheargumentsoftheopposingcounsel，asajudgedoeswhenheistryingacase。Unlessweknowthese，andcanstatetheminawaythatouropponentswouldadmittobeafairrepresentationoftheirviews，wehavenorighttoclaimthatwehaveformedanopinionatall。Themisfortuneisthatbythelawofthelandonesideonlycanbeheard。
TheobaldandChristinawerenoexceptionstothegeneralrule。WhentheycametoBattersbytheyhadeverydesiretofulfilthedutiesoftheirposition，andtodevotethemselvestothehonourandgloryofGod。ButitwasTheobald’sdutytoseethehonourandgloryofGodthroughtheeyesofaChurchwhichhadlivedthreehundredyearswithoutfindingreasontochangeasingleoneofitsopinions。
IshoulddoubtwhetherheevergotasfarasdoubtingthewisdomofhisChurchuponanysinglematter。Hisscentforpossiblemischiefwastolerablykeen；sowasChristina’s，anditislikelythatifeitherofthemdetectedinhimorherselfthefirstfaintsymptomsofawantoffaiththeywerenippednolessperemptorilyinthebud，thansignsofself-willinErnestwere——andIshouldimaginemoresuccessfully。YetTheobaldconsideredhimself，andwasgenerallyconsideredtobe，andindeedperhapswas，anexceptionallytruthfulperson；indeedhewasgenerallylookeduponasanembodimentofallthosevirtueswhichmakethepoorrespectableandtherichrespected。Inthecourseoftimeheandhiswifebecamepersuadedeventounconsciousness，thatnoonecouldevendwellundertheirroofwithoutdeepcauseforthankfulness。Theirchildren，theirservants，theirparishionersmustbefortunateipsofactothattheyweretheirs。Therewasnoroadtohappinesshereorhereafter，buttheroadthattheyhadthemselvestravelled，nogoodpeoplewhodidnotthinkastheydiduponeverysubject，andnoreasonablepersonwhohadwantsthegratificationofwhichwouldbeinconvenienttothem——TheobaldandChristina。
Thiswashowitcametopassthattheirchildrenwerewhiteandpuny；theyweresufferingfromHOME-SICKNESS。Theywerestarving，throughbeingover-crammedwiththewrongthings。Naturecamedownuponthem，butshedidnotcomedownonTheobaldandChristina。Whyshouldshe？Theywerenotleadingastarvedexistence。Therearetwoclassesofpeopleinthisworld，thosewhosin，andthosewhoaresinnedagainst；ifamanmustbelongtoeither，hehadbetterbelongtothefirstthantothesecond。
Iwillgivenomoreofthedetailsofmyhero’searlieryears。
Enoughthathestruggledthroughthem，andattwelveyearsoldkneweverypageofhisLatinandGreekGrammarsbyheart。HehadreadthegreaterpartofVirgil，HoraceandLivy，andIdonotknowhowmanyGreekplays：hewasproficientinarithmetic，knewthefirstfourbooksofEuclidthoroughly，andhadafairknowledgeofFrench。
Itwasnowtimehewenttoschool，andtoschoolhewasaccordinglytogo，underthefamousDrSkinnerofRoughborough。
TheobaldhadknownDrSkinnerslightlyatCambridge。Hehadbeenaburningandashininglightineverypositionhehadfilledfromhisboyhoodupwards。Hewasaverygreatgenius。Everyoneknewthis；
theysaid，indeed，thathewasoneofthefewpeopletowhomthewordgeniuscouldbeappliedwithoutexaggeration。HadhenottakenIdon’tknowhowmanyUniversityScholarshipsinhisfreshman’syear？HadhenotbeenafterwardsSeniorWrangler，FirstChancellor’sMedallistandIdonotknowhowmanymorethingsbesides？Andthen，hewassuchawonderfulspeaker；attheUnionDebatingClubhehadbeenwithoutarival，andhad，ofcourse，beenpresident；hismoralcharacter，——apointonwhichsomanygeniuseswereweak——wasabsolutelyirreproachable；foremostofall，however，amonghismanygreatqualities，andperhapsmoreremarkableeventhanhisgeniuswaswhatbiographershavecalled“thesimple-mindedandchild-likeearnestnessofhischaracter。”anearnestnesswhichmightbeperceivedbythesolemnitywithwhichhespokeevenabouttrifles。ItishardlynecessarytosayhewasontheLiberalsideinpolitics。
Hispersonalappearancewasnotparticularlyprepossessing。Hewasaboutthemiddleheight，portly，andhadacoupleoffiercegreyeyes，thatflashedfirefrombeneathapairofgreatbushybeetlingeyebrowsandoverawedallwhocamenearhim。Itwasinrespectofhispersonalappearance，however，that，ifhewasvulnerableatall，hisweakplacewastobefound。Hishairwhenhewasayoungmanwasred，butafterhehadtakenhisdegreehehadabrainfeverwhichcausedhimtohavehisheadshaved；whenhereappeared，hedidsowearingawig，andonewhichwasagooddealfurtheroffredthanhisownhairhadbeen。Henotonlyhadneverdiscardedhiswig，butyearbyyearithadedgeditselfalittlemoreandalittlemoreoffred，tillbythetimehewasforty，therewasnotatraceofredremaining，andhiswigwasbrown。
WhenDrSkinnerwasaveryyoungman，hardlymorethanfive-and-
twenty，thehead-mastershipofRoughboroughGrammarSchoolhadfallenvacant，andhehadbeenunhesitatinglyappointed。Theresultjustifiedtheselection。DrSkinner’spupilsdistinguishedthemselvesatwhicheverUniversitytheywentto。Hemouldedtheirmindsafterthemodelofhisown，andstampedanimpressionuponthemwhichwasindelibleinafter-life；whateverelseaRoughboroughmanmightbe，hewassuretomakeeveryonefeelthathewasaGod-
fearingearnestChristianandaLiberal，ifnotaRadical，inpolitics。Someboys，ofcourse，wereincapableofappreciatingthebeautyandloftinessofDrSkinner’snature。Somesuchboys，alas！
therewillbeineveryschool；uponthemDrSkinner’shandwasveryproperlyaheavyone。Hishandwasagainstthem，andtheirsagainsthimduringthewholetimeoftheconnectionbetweenthem。Theynotonlydislikedhim，buttheyhatedallthathemoreespeciallyembodied，andthroughouttheirlivesdislikedallthatremindedthemofhim。Suchboys，however，wereinaminority，thespiritoftheplacebeingdecidedlySkinnerian。
Ioncehadthehonourofplayingagameofchesswiththisgreatman。ItwasduringtheChristmasholidays，andIhadcomedowntoRoughboroughforafewdaystoseeAletheaPontifexwhowasthenlivingthereonbusiness。Itwasverygraciousofhimtotakenoticeofme，forifIwasalightofliteratureatallitwasoftheverylightestkind。
ItistruethatintheintervalsofbusinessIhadwrittenagooddeal，butmyworkshadbeenalmostexclusivelyforthestage，andforthosetheatresthatdevotedthemselvestoextravaganzaandburlesque。Ihadwrittenmanypiecesofthisdescription，fullofpunsandcomicsongs，andtheyhadhadafairsuccess，butmybestpiecehadbeenatreatmentofEnglishhistoryduringtheReformationperiod，inthecourseofwhichIhadintroducedCranmer，SirThomasMore，HenrytheEighth，CatherineofArragon，andThomasCromwellinhisyouthbetterknownastheMalleusMonachorum，andhadmadethemdanceabreak-down。Ihadalsodramatised“ThePilgrim’sProgress“foraChristmasPantomime，andmadeanimportantsceneofVanityFair，withMrGreatheart，Apollyon，Christiana，Mercy，andHopefulastheprincipalcharacters。TheorchestraplayedmusictakenfromHandel’sbestknownworks，butthetimewasagooddealaltered，andaltogetherthetuneswerenotexactlyasHandelleftthem。MrGreatheartwasverystoutandhehadarednose；heworeacapaciouswaistcoat，andashirtwithahugefrilldownthemiddleofthefront。HopefulwasuptoasmuchmischiefasIcouldgivehim；heworethecostumeofayoungswelloftheperiod，andhadacigarinhismouthwhichwascontinuallygoingout。