never have learnt the bicycle. One thinks very little of falls from horseback, after one has been thrown over the head of a bike. Of course, one must be reasonably prudent on the machine, and trust the rest to luck.’
‘Luck? I should prefer to place my trust higher than that, Lesbia,’ said Rose Dimpleton, with a serious look at her.
‘Quite right, Miss Dimpleton; we are all of us too thoughtless,’ said the vicar. ‘By the way, how are you progressing in your studies?’
‘Thanks, my preparation goes on satisfactorily. But I should like to talk with you one day, Mr Bristley, since you are so kind as to ask me, about the Athanasian Creed.’
‘With pleasure,’ he replied. ‘But you select a very difficult subject. I am quite inclined to believe that the compilation is that of a thinker, and that the spiritual constitution of man is its real theme. But it is a pity the thoughts are wrapped up in terms so far-fetched and obscure. The literal meaning is, of course, worthless.’
‘Is it, Mr Bristley? I don’t find it so obscure, but, of course, you know best. I should have thought it was manifest enough that the main theme of the Athanasian Creed is simply the greatest of the mysteries we are bound to receive, that of—’
‘Quirk, Gammon & Snap, bless your soul and body!’ roared Mr Lockstable into her face, with the usual resounding slap on his thigh. ‘Quirk, Gammon & Snap, those are your three chappies, eh?’ still at Rose Dimpleton, and with a second slap that actually brushed the front of her black fur tippet as it descended.
‘For shame!’ cried the poor girl, flushing crimson, while the two other girls screamed, and Mr Bristley turned away before he could control himself sufficiently to say in a quiet tone,—
