. Tom Browns school-days . begin to get a glimmering of what you mean, said say, now, said Tom, eagerly, do you remember how weboth hated Flashman ? Of course I do, said East; I hate him still. What then ?Well, when I came to take the Sacrament I had a greatstruggle about that. I tried to put him out of my head; and, whenI couldnt do that, I tried to think of him as evil, as somethingthat the Lord who was loving me hated, and which I might hate,too. But it wouldnt do. I broke down: I believe Christ Him-self br ke me down; and when the Doctor gave me the bread andwine, and leaned over me
. Tom Browns school-days . begin to get a glimmering of what you mean, said say, now, said Tom, eagerly, do you remember how weboth hated Flashman ? Of course I do, said East; I hate him still. What then ?Well, when I came to take the Sacrament I had a greatstruggle about that. I tried to put him out of my head; and, whenI couldnt do that, I tried to think of him as evil, as somethingthat the Lord who was loving me hated, and which I might hate,too. But it wouldnt do. I broke down: I believe Christ Him-self br ke me down; and when the Doctor gave me the bread andwine, and leaned over me praying, I prayed for poor Flashman,as if it had been you or Arthur. East buried his face in his hands on the table. Tom could feelthe table tremble. At last he looked up, Thank you again,Tom, said he; you dont know what you may have done forme to-night. I think I see now how the right sort of sympathywith poor devils is got at. And youll stop the Sacrament next time, wont you ? saidTom. Can I, before Im confirmed? [334]. EAST FOLLOWED THE DOCTOR AND THE OLD VERGER u— SCHOOL DAYS Go and ask the Doctor. I will. That very night, after prayers, East followed the Doctor andthe old verger bearing the candle up-stairs. Tom watched, andsaw the Doctor turn round when he heard footsteps followinghim closer than usual, and say, Hah! East! Do you want tospeak with me, my man ? If you please, sir; and the private door closed and Tom wentto his study in a state of great trouble of mind. It was almost an hour before East came back; then he rushedin breathless. Well, its all right! he shouted, seizing Tom by the hand. Ifeel as if a ton weight were off my mind. Hurra! said Tom. I knew it would be; but tell us allabout it. Well, I just told him all about it. You cant think how kindand gentle he was, the great, grim man, whom I feared more thananybody on earth. When I stuck, he lifted me, just as if I hadbeen a little child. And he seemed to know all Id felt, and tohave gone through it all. A
Size: 1296px × 1929px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidtombrownsschoold00hugh4
