14/21 He was a little shocked at first by the language he heard; but that feeling soon wore off. His kind heart, also, in the first month of his novitiate, sympathized with the daily miseries of Mr.Snape; but he also soon learnt to believe that Mr.Snape was a counterfeit, and after the first half year could torture him with as much gusto as any of his brethren. Alas! no evil tendency communicates itself among young men more quickly than cruelty. Those infernal navvies were very cruel to Mr.Snape. But he was easily malleable, and he took at once the full impression of the stamp to which he was subjected. |