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quisitive, and wanted so much to see you, that she petitioned the king, and made him give you his pardon, and assign you a pension in consideration of your ignorance of the law and your excellent physique. It is lucky for you that he has not heard what you have been saying now, or he would be sure to cancel it.”

As I heard these words, my heart sank within me. I felt the extreme difficulty of my position, and how unwise it would be for me to run counter to prevailing prejudices, however revolting they might be to me. I remained silent for several minutes; then, having got myself under control, I said that I fancied I had made a mistake, and that I should be very happy to accept the embezzler’s invitation,—on which my instructor brightened, and said I was a sensible fellow. But I felt very uncomfortable. When he had left the room, I mused over the conversation which had just taken place between us, but I could make nothing out of it, except that it argued an even greater perversity of mental vision than I had been yet prepared for. And this made me wretched; for I cannot bear having much to do with people who think differently from myself. All sorts of wandering thoughts kept coming into my head. I thought of my master’s hut, and my seat upon the mountain side, where I had first conceived the insane idea of exploring. What years and years seemed to have passed since I had begun my journey!

I thought of my adventures in the gorge, and on the journey hither, and of Chowbok. I wondered what Chowbok told them about me when he got back,—he had done well in going back, Chowbok had. He