Christianadidnotwearmuchofanything：indeeditwassaidthatthedresswhichtheStageManagerhadoriginallyproposedforherhadbeenconsideredinadequateevenbytheLordChamberlain，butthisisnotthecase。WithallthesedelinquenciesuponmyminditwasnaturalthatIshouldfeelconvincedofsinwhileplayingchess(whichIhate)withthegreatDrSkinnerofRoughborough——thehistorianofAthensandeditorofDemosthenes。DrSkinner，moreover，wasoneofthosewhopridethemselvesonbeingabletosetpeopleattheireaseatonce，andIhadbeensittingontheedgeofmychairalltheevening。ButIhavealwaysbeenveryeasilyoverawedbyaschoolmaster。
Thegamehadbeenalongone，andathalf-pastnine，whensuppercamein，wehadeachofusafewpiecesremaining。“Whatwillyoutakeforsupper，DrSkinner？”saidMrsSkinnerinasilveryvoice。
Hemadenoanswerforsometime，butatlastinatoneofalmostsuperhumansolemnity，hesaid，first，“Nothing。”andthen“Nothingwhatever。”
Byandby，however，IhadasensecomeovermeasthoughIwerenearertheconsummationofallthingsthanIhadeveryetbeen。Theroomseemedtogrowdark，asanexpressioncameoverDrSkinner’sface，whichshowedthathewasabouttospeak。Theexpressiongatheredforce，theroomgrewdarkeranddarker。“Stay。”heatlengthadded，andIfeltthathereatanyratewasanendtoasuspensewhichwasrapidlybecomingunbearable。“Stay——Imaypresentlytakeaglassofcoldwater——andasmallpieceofbreadandbutter。”
Ashesaidtheword“butter“hisvoicesanktoahardlyaudiblewhisper；thentherewasasighasthoughofreliefwhenthesentencewasconcluded，andtheuniversethistimewassafe。
Anothertenminutesofsolemnsilencefinishedthegame。TheDoctorrosebrisklyfromhisseatandplacedhimselfatthesuppertable。
“MrsSkinner。”heexclaimedjauntily，“whatarethosemysterious-
lookingobjectssurroundedbypotatoes？”
“Thoseareoysters，DrSkinner。”
“Givemesome，andgiveOvertonsome。”
Andsoontillhehadeatenagoodplateofoysters，ascallopshellofmincedvealnicelybrowned，someappletart，andahunkofbreadandcheese。Thiswasthesmallpieceofbreadandbutter。
Theclothwasnowremovedandtumblerswithteaspoonsinthem，alemonortwoandajugofboilingwaterwereplaceduponthetable。
Thenthegreatmanunbent。Hisfacebeamed。
“Andwhatshallitbetodrink？”heexclaimedpersuasively。“Shallitbebrandyandwater？No。Itshallbeginandwater。Ginisthemorewholesomeliquor。”
Soginitwas，hotandstifftoo。
Whocanwonderathimordoanythingbutpityhim？Washenothead-
masterofRoughboroughSchool？Towhomhadheowedmoneyatanytime？Whoseoxhadhetaken，whoseasshadhetaken，orwhomhadhedefrauded？Whatwhisperhadeverbeenbreathedagainsthismoralcharacter？Ifhehadbecomerichitwasbythemosthonourableofallmeans——hisliteraryattainments；overandabovehisgreatworksofscholarship，his“MeditationsupontheEpistleandCharacterofStJude“hadplacedhimamongthemostpopularofEnglishtheologians；itwassoexhaustivethatnoonewhoboughtitneedevermeditateuponthesubjectagain——indeeditexhaustedallwhohadanythingtodowithit。Hehadmade5000poundsbythisworkalone，andwouldverylikelymakeanother5000poundsbeforehedied。Amanwhohaddoneallthisandwantedapieceofbreadandbutterhadarighttoannouncethefactwithsomepompandcircumstance。Norshouldhiswordsbetakenwithoutsearchingforwhatheusedtocalla“deeperandmorehiddenmeaning。”Thosewhosearchedforthiseveninhislightestutteranceswouldnotbewithouttheirreward。Theywouldfindthat“breadandbutter“wasSkinnereseforoyster-pattiesandappletart，and“ginhot“thetruetranslationofwater。
Butindependentlyoftheirmoneyvalue，hisworkshadmadehimalastingnameinliterature。SoprobablyGalliowasundertheimpressionthathisfamewouldrestuponthetreatisesonnaturalhistorywhichwegatherfromSenecathathecompiled，andwhichforaughtweknowmayhavecontainedacompletetheoryofevolution；butthetreatisesareallgoneandGalliohasbecomeimmortalfortheverylastreasonintheworldthatheexpected，andfortheverylastreasonthatwouldhaveflatteredhisvanity。Hehasbecomeimmortalbecausehecarednothingaboutthemostimportantmovementwithwhichhewaseverbroughtintoconnection(Iwishpeoplewhoareinsearchofimmortalitywouldlaythelessontoheartandnotmakesomuchnoiseaboutimportantmovements)，andso，ifDrSkinnerbecomesimmortal，itwillprobablybeforsomereasonverydifferentfromtheonewhichhesofondlyimagined。
Coulditbeexpectedtoenterintotheheadofsuchamanasthisthatinrealityhewasmakinghismoneybycorruptingyouth；thatitwashispaidprofessiontomaketheworseappearthebetterreasonintheeyesofthosewhoweretooyoungandinexperiencedtobeabletofindhimout；thathekeptoutofthesightofthosewhomheprofessedtoteachmaterialpointsoftheargument，fortheproductionofwhichtheyhadarighttorelyuponthehonourofanyonewhomadeprofessionsofsincerity；thathewasapassionatehalf-turkey-cockhalf-ganderofamanwhosesallow，biliousfaceandhobble-gobblevoicecouldscarethetimid，butwhowouldtaketohisheelsreadilyenoughifheweremetfirmly；thathis“MeditationsonStJude。”suchastheywere，werecribbedwithoutacknowledgment，andwouldhavebeenbeneathcontemptifsomanypeopledidnotbelievethemtohavebeenwrittenhonestly？MrsSkinnermighthaveperhapskepthimalittlemoreinhisproperplaceifshehadthoughtitworthwhiletotry，butshehadenoughtoattendtoinlookingafterherhouseholdandseeingthattheboyswerewellfedand，iftheywereill，properlylookedafter——whichshetookgoodcaretheywere。
ErnesthadheardawfulaccountsofDrSkinner’stemper，andofthebullyingwhichtheyoungerboysatRoughboroughhadtoputupwithatthehandsofthebiggerones。Hehadnowgotaboutasmuchashecouldstand，andfeltasthoughitmustgohardwithhimifhisburdensofwhateverkindweretobeincreased。Hedidnotcryonleavinghome，butIamafraidhedidonbeingtoldthathewasgettingnearRoughborough。Hisfatherandmotherwerewithhim，havingpostedfromhomeintheirowncarriage；Roughboroughhadasyetnorailway，andasitwasonlysomefortymilesfromBattersby，thiswastheeasiestwayofgettingthere。
Onseeinghimcry，hismotherfeltflatteredandcaressedhim。Shesaidsheknewhemustfeelverysadatleavingsuchahappyhome，andgoingamongpeoplewho，thoughtheywouldbeverygoodtohim，couldnever，neverbeasgoodashisdearpapaandshehadbeen；
still，shewasherself，ifheonlyknewit，muchmoredeservingofpitythanhewas，forthepartingwasmorepainfultoherthanitcouldpossiblybetohim，etc。，andErnest，onbeingtoldthathistearswereforgriefatleavinghome，tookitallontrust，anddidnottroubletoinvestigatetherealcauseofhistears。AstheyapproachedRoughboroughhepulledhimselftogether，andwasfairlycalmbythetimehereachedDrSkinner’s。
OntheirarrivaltheyhadluncheonwiththeDoctorandhiswife，andthenMrsSkinnertookChristinaoverthebedrooms，andshowedherwhereherdearlittleboywastosleep。
Whatevermenmaythinkaboutthestudyofman，womendoreallybelievethenobleststudyforwomankindtobewoman，andChristinawastoomuchengrossedwithMrsSkinnertopaymuchattentiontoanythingelse；IdaresayMrsSkinner，too，wastakingprettyaccuratestockofChristina。Christinawascharmed，asindeedshegenerallywaswithanynewacquaintance，forshefoundinthem(andsomustweall)somethingofthenatureofacross；asforMrsSkinner，IimagineshehadseentoomanyChristinastofindmuchregenerationinthesamplenowbeforeher；Ibelieveherprivateopinionechoedthedictumofawell-knownhead-masterwhodeclaredthatallparentswerefools，butmoreespeciallymothers；shewas，however，allsmilesandsweetness，andChristinadevouredthesegraciouslyastributespaidmoreparticularlytoherself，andsuchasnoothermotherwouldhavebeenatalllikelytohavewon。
InthemeantimeTheobaldandErnestwerewithDrSkinnerinhislibrary——theroomwherenewboyswereexaminedandoldoneshadupforrebukeorchastisement。Ifthewallsofthatroomcouldspeak，whatanamountofblunderingandcapriciouscrueltywouldtheynotbearwitnessto！
Likeallhouses，DrSkinner’shaditspeculiarsmell。InthiscasetheprevailingodourwasoneofRussialeather，butalongwithittherewasasubordinatesavourasofachemist’sshop。Thiscamefromasmalllaboratoryinonecorneroftheroom——thepossessionofwhich，togetherwiththefreechatteryandsmatteryuseofsuchwordsas“carbonate。”“hyposulphite。”“phosphate。”and“affinity。”
wereenoughtoconvinceeventhemostscepticalthatDrSkinnerhadaprofoundknowledgeofchemistry。
ImaysayinpassingthatDrSkinnerhaddabbledinagreatmanyotherthingsaswellaschemistry。Hewasamanofmanysmallknowledges，andeachofthemdangerous。IrememberAletheaPontifexoncesaidinherwickedwaytome，thatDrSkinnerputherinmindoftheBourbonprincesontheirreturnfromexileafterthebattleofWaterloo，onlythathewastheirexactconverse；forwhereastheyhadlearnednothingandforgottennothing，DrSkinnerhadlearnedeverythingandforgotteneverything。AndthisputsmeinmindofanotherofherwickedsayingsaboutDrSkinner。Shetoldmeonedaythathehadtheharmlessnessoftheserpentandthewisdomofthedove。
ButtoreturntoDrSkinner’slibrary；overthechimney-piecetherewasaBishop’shalflengthportraitofDrSkinnerhimself，paintedbytheelderPickersgill，whosemeritDrSkinnerhadbeenamongthefirsttodiscernandfoster。Therewerenootherpicturesinthelibrary，butinthedining-roomtherewasafinecollection，whichthedoctorhadgottogetherwithhisusualconsummatetaste。Headdedtoitlargelyinlaterlife，andwhenitcametothehammeratChristie’s，asitdidnotlongsince，itwasfoundtocomprisemanyofthelatestandmostmaturedworksofSolomonHart，O’Neil，CharlesLandseer，andmoreofourrecentAcademiciansthanIcanatthemomentremember。TherewerethusbroughttogetherandexhibitedatoneviewmanyworkswhichhadattractedattentionattheAcademyExhibitions，andastowhoseultimatedestinytherehadbeensomecuriosity。Thepricesrealisedweredisappointingtotheexecutors，but，then，thesethingsaresomuchamatterofchance。Anunscrupulouswriterinawell-knownweeklypaperhadwrittenthecollectiondown。MoreovertherehadbeenoneortwolargesalesashorttimebeforeDrSkinner’s，sothatatthislasttherewasratherapanic，andareactionagainstthehighpricesthathadruledlately。
Thetableofthelibrarywasloadedwithbooksmanydeep；MSS。ofallkindswereconfusedlymixedupwiththem，——boys’exercises，probably，andexaminationpapers——butalllitteringuntidilyabout。
