Oh
yes.
Ah,
very good, said my uncle. It's a grand thing that - a thing that will stand to
you. It is certainly. A good degree is a very nice thing to have. Are
the masters hard to please, Mr Brinsley?
Well,
no. As a matter of fact they don't care very much.
Do
you tell me so! Well it was a different tale in the old days. The
schoolmasters believed in the big stick. Oh, plenty of that boyo.
He
gave a laugh here in which we concurred without emotion.The stick was
mightier than the pen, he added, laughing again in a louder way and relapsing
into a quiet chuckle. He paused for a brief interval as if examining hitherto
overlooked in the interior of his memory.
And
how is our friend? He inquired in the direction of my
bed.
Nature
of my reply: Civil, perfunctory, uninformative.
My
uncle leaned over towards Brinsley and said to him in a low, confidential
manner: Do you know what I am going to tell you, there is a very catching
cold around. Every second man you meet has got a cold. God preserve us, there
will be plenty of flu’ before the winter’s out, make no mistake about
that. You would need to keep yourself well wrapped up.
As
a matter of fact, said Brinsley in a crafty way, I have only just recovered
from a cold myself.
You
would need to keep yourself well wrapped up, rejoined my uncle, you would,
faith.
Here there was a pause, each of us searching for a word with which it might be
broken.
Tell me this, Mr Brinsley, said my uncle, are you going to be a doctor?
I am not, said Brinsley.
Or
a schoolmaster?
Here I interposed a shaft from my bed.
He hopes to get a job from the Christian Brothers when he gets his B.A.
That would be a great thing, said my uncle. The Brothers, of course, are very
particular about the boys they take. You must have a good record, a clean
sheet.
Well, I have that, said Brinsley.
Of course you have, said my uncle. But doctoring and teaching are two jobs
that call for great application and love of God. For what is the love of God
but the love of your neighbour?