And as the young fellow proceeded,
his points would be weighed to the accompaniment of the
Doctor's pendent foot, which moved perpetually, judiciously;
while the smile sometimes deepened, sometimes lapsed,
since there were moments when any young fellow had to be
taken seriously. It was an attitude which only the Doctor
was privileged to adopt thus outwardly; but in private
it was imitated all up and down the aisles, where
responsible heads of families sat considering the quality
of the manna that was offered them. When it fell from
the lips of Mr Finlay the verdict was, upon the whole,
very favourable, as long as there was no question of
comparison with the Doctor.
There could be, indeed, very little question of such
comparison. There was a generation between them and a
school, and to that you had to add every set and cast of
mind and body that can make men different. Dr Drummond,
in faith and practice, moved with precision along formal
and implicit lines; his orbit was established, and his
operation within it as unquestionable as the simplest
exhibit of nature. He took in a wonderful degree the
stamp of the teaching of his adolescent period; not a
line was missing nor a precept; nor was the mould defaced
by a single wavering tendency of later date. Religious
doctrine was to him a thing for ever accomplished, to be
accepted or rejected as a whole.
Pages:
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108