He also had that social
aplomb so much a characteristic of the naval officer. Yet, man of the
world as he was, he had a strain of asceticism which puzzled me. It did
not make him eccentric, but it was not a thing usual with the naval man.
Again, he wished to be known simply as Mr. Roscoe, not as Captain Roscoe,
which was his rank. He said nothing about having retired, yet I guessed
he had done so. One evening, however, soon after we had left Aden, we
were sitting in my cabin, and the conversation turned upon a recent novel
dealing with the defection of a clergyman of the Church of England
through agnosticism. The keenness with which he threw himself into the
discussion and the knowledge he showed, surprised me. I knew (as most
medical students get to know, until they know better) some scientific
objections to Christianity, and I put them forward. He clearly and
powerfully met them. I said at last, laughingly: "Why, you ought to take
holy orders."
"That is what I am going to do," he said very seriously, "when I get to
England. I am resigning the navy." At that instant there flashed through
my mind Mrs.
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