The sight of his rooms
pleased him, and the foregathering with the three or four of his
colleagues was a great relief. Mr. Redmayne was incisive and
dogmatic, but evidently pleased to see him back. He had not been
away, and professed that holidays and change of scene were
distracting and exhausting. "It takes me six weeks to recover from
a holiday," he said. He had had an old friend to stay with him, a
country parson, and he had apparently spent his time in elaborate
manoeuvres to see as little of his guest as possible. "A worthy
man, but tedious," he said, "wonderfully well preserved--in body,
that is; his mind has entirely gone to pieces; he has got some
dismal notions in his head about the condition of the agricultural
poor; he thinks they want uplifting! Now I am all for the due
subordination of classes. The poor are there, if I may speak
plainly, to breed--that is their first duty; and their only other
duty that I can discover, is to provide for the needs of men of
virtue and intelligence!"
Later on, Howard was left alone with him, and thought that it would
please the old man to tell him of the change in his own position.
"I am delighted to hear it," said Mr. Redmayne: "a landed
proprietor, that's a very comfortable thing! Now how will that
affect your position here? Ah yes, I see--only the heir-apparent at
present. Well, you will probably find that the estate has all been
run on very sentimental lines by your worthy aunt.
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