worked at his home-lessons, which therefore
might suffer under the regime of a Bible class. His attention had been
directed to the peace which passeth understanding. So he had been
beaten, and was secretly twitted by Clara as an abject victim. Hence it
was with a keen and peculiar feeling of triumph, of hopelessly cornering
the inscrutable generation which a few months ago had cornered him, that
he demanded, perhaps perkily: "What about the Bible class?"

"There'll be no more Bible classing," said his father, with a mild but
slightly sardonic smile, as who should say: "I'm ready to make all
allowances for youth; but I must get you to understand, as gently as I
can, that you can't keep on going to Bible classes for ever and ever."

Mrs Hamps said--

"It won't be as if you were at school. But I do hope you won't neglect
to study your Bible. Eh, but I do hope you'll always find time for
that, to your dying day!"

"Oh--but I say--" Edwin began, and stopped.

He was beaten by the mere effrontery of the replies. His father and his
aunt (the latter of whom at any rate was a firm and confessed
religionist, who had been responsible for converting Mr Clayhanger from
Primitive Methodism to Wesleyan Methodism) did not trouble to defend
their new position by argument. They made no effort to reconcile it
with their position of a few months back, when the importance of
heavenly welfare far exceeded the importance of any conceivable earthly
welfare. The fact was that they had no argument. If God took
precedence of knowledge and of health, he took precedence of a peddling
shop! That was unanswerable.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

EIGHT.

Edwin was dashed. His faith in humanity was dashed. These elders were
not sincere. And as Mrs Hamps continued to embroider the original
theme of her exhortation about the Bible, Edwin looked at her
stealthily, and the doubt crossed his mind whether that majestic and
vital woman was ever sincere about anything, even to herself--whether
the whole of her daily existence, from her getting-up to her down-lying,
was not a grandiose pretence.

Not that he had the least desire to cling to the Bible class, even as an
alternative to the shop! No! He was much relieved to be rid of the
Bible class. What overset him was the crude illogicality of the new
decree, and the shameless tacit admission of previous insincerity.

Two hours later, as he s