moonlight this week--Old
Tabby [Orion] looks well to-night--you'd better have a look at Sirius
afore the moon arises, I never see him so clear as he is now"--these
were the greetings which Snarley offered "to them as could understand"
from behind the hedge or within the penfold.

But it was not from superficialities of this kind that the depth of his
stellar interests was to be measured. I once told him that a great man
of old had declared that the stars were gods. "So they are, but I wonder
how he found that out," said Snarley; "because you can't find it out by
lookin' at 'em. You may look at 'em till you're blind, and you'll never
see anything but little lights." "It was just his fancy," I said, like a
simpleton. "Fancy be ----!" said Snarley. "It's a plain truth--that is,
it's plain enough for them as knows the way."

"What's that?" I said.

"It's a way as nobody can take unless they're born to it. And, what's
more, it's a way as nobody can _understand_ unless they're born to it.
Didn't I tell you the other day that there's only one sort of folks as
can tell what the stars are--and that's the folks as can get out o'
their own skins? And they're not many as can do that. But that man you
were just talkin' of, as said the stars were gods, _he_ must ha' done
it. It's my opinion that in the old days there was more folks as could
get out o' their skins than there are now. I sometimes wish _I'd_ been
born in the old days. I should ha' had somebody to talk to then. I've
got hardly anybody now. And you get tired sometimes o' keepin' yerself
to yerself. If I were a learned man I'd be readin' them old books day
and night."

"What about the Bible?" I asked.

"Well, that's a good old book," said Snarley; "but there's some things
in it that's no good to anybody--_except to talkin' men_."

"Who are they?" I said.

"Why, folks as doesn't understand things, but only likes to talk about
'em: parsons--at least, more nor half on 'em--ay, and these 'ere
politicians too, for the matter o' that. There's some folks as dresses
up in fine clothes, and there's some as dresses up in fine words: one
sort wants to be looked at, and the other wants to be listened to.
Doesn't it stand to sense that it's just the same? Bless your 'eart,
it's all _show_! Why, there's lots o' men as goes huntin' about till
they finds a bit o' summat as they think 'ud look well if they dressed
it up in talk. 'Ah,' they say to themselves, 'that'll just do for m