‘What is Slavonian, brother?’
‘The family name of certain nations, the principal of which is the Russian, and from which the word slave is originally derived. You have heard of the Russians, Jasper?’
‘Yes, brother, and seen some. I saw their crallis at the time of the peace; he was not a bad-looking man for a Russian.’
‘By-the-bye, Jasper, I’m half inclined to think that crallis [51a] is a Slavish word. I saw something like it in a lil [51b] called “Voltaire’s Life of Charles.” How you should have come by such names and words is to me incomprehensible.’
‘You seem posed, brother.’
‘I really know very little about you, Jasper.’
‘Very little indeed, brother. We know very little about ourselves, and you know nothing, save what we have told you; and we have now and then told you things about us which are not exactly true, simply to make a fool of you brother. You will say that was wrong; perhaps it was. Well, Sunday will be here in a day or two, when we will go to church, where possibly we shall hear a sermon on the disastrous consequences of lying.’
CHAPTER VIII
THE CHURCH—THE ARISTOCRATICAL PEW—DAYS OF YORE—THE CLERGYMAN—‘IN WHAT WOULD A MAN BE PROFITED?’
When two days had passed, Sunday came; I breakfasted by myself in the solitary dingle; and then, having set things a little to rights, I ascended to Mr. Petulengro’s encampment. I could hear church-bells ringing around in the distance, appearing to say, ‘Come to church, come to church,’ as clearly as it was possible