Coristine was tired, so, after a little pressing, he accepted the mount,
and, of course, found it impossible to refuse his confidence to the man
whose horse he was riding.
"What did you do with your clerical garb?" he asked.
"Have it on," replied Nash; "it's a great make up. This coat of black
cord has a lot of turned up and turned down tag ends, the same with the
vest, and the soft hat can be knocked into any shape with a dift of the
fist. With these, and three collars, and moustache, beard, and whiskers,
that I carry in my pocket, I can assume half-a-dozen characters and
more."
"How do you justify your assumption of the priestly character?"
"I want information, and assume any character to get it, in every case
being guilty of deception. You think my last role unjustifiable because
of the confessional. Had I simulated a Methodist parson, or a
Presbyterian minister, or a Church of England divine, you would have
thought much less of it; and yet, if there is any bad in the thing, the
one is as bad as the other. Personally, I regard the confessional as a
piece of superstitious ecclesiastical machinery, and am ready to utilize
it, like any other superstition, for the purpose of obtaining
information.
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