“And who believed in Him,” said the vicar in a tone that the doctor could hardly recognize.
“Yes, there were souls who believed in him,” said the doctor in a matter-of-fact voice which had a kind of gentle indulgence. “There must have been. More than one of our poor old men here died with his name on their lips. You would hardly believe what an influence he had among us. We shall miss him very much. In his way he was a true saint, a real teacher, and he has left this place better than he found it.”
“If only he could have received the homage that awaited him,” the vicar whispered.
“Yes, if only he could have done so! But it is written otherwise. Still, we all feel that a very remarkable honor has been paid to one of our inmates. By the way, isn’t it Aristotle—or is it Plato?—who says that it is a part of probability that many improbabilities will happen?”
XLVII
As the vicar and the doctor left John Smith’s cell, there came out of the deep shadows of the long corridor a figure, old, forlorn, very infirm. With a haunted look this rather grotesque creature shuffled forward, and fixing tragic eyes upon the doctor’s face muttered in an alien tongue:
“He is risen. He is risen.”
The doctor reproved him sharply. “Why, Goethe, what in fortune’s name are you doing here! Go at once to your own side and don’t let me see you here again. Strict instructions were given that none of the patients were to be seen in the west wing just now. I must look into this. Go at once to your own side.”
The old man slunk away, still muttering softly, “He is risen. He is risen.”
The doctor was obviously annoyed by the incident. “Gross carelessness on the part of someone,” he said. “The deputation is already due, and the Home Office desires us in the special and quite unprecedented circumstances of the case to present as normal an appearance as we can. In other words, it doesn’t want representatives of our own and foreign governments to be welcomed by a parcel of lunatics. That will not help anybody; besides, as the Home Office says, it is desirable that no slur should be cast on the profession of literature.”