"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.
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