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movements were slow and languid. He gave an impression
of lassitude, and his nickname was eminently appropriate.
‘He’s very enthusiastic,’ said Winks.
Enthusiasm was ill-bred. Enthusiasm was ungentleman-
ly. They thought of the Salvation Army with its braying
trumpets and its drums. Enthusiasm meant change. They
had goose-flesh when they thought of all the pleasant old
habits which stood in imminent danger. They hardly dared
to look forward to the future.
‘He looks more of a gipsy than ever,’ said one, after a
pause.
‘I wonder if the Dean and Chapter knew that he was a
Radical when they elected him,’ another observed bitterly.
But conversation halted. They were too much disturbed
for words.
When Tar and Sighs were walking together to the Chap-
ter House on Speech-Day a week later, Tar, who had a bitter
tongue, remarked to his colleague:
‘Well, we’ve seen a good many Speech-Days here, haven’t
we? I wonder if we shall see another.’
Sighs was more melancholy even than usual.
‘If anything worth having comes along in the way of a
living I don’t mind when I retire.’

Of Human Bondage