The Bad Luck One Can Have

Arthur has finished his bun and gone off to find the Tamar River with the jug.

Captain Louttit is perched cautiously on the stone rim of the font, keeping his legs dry.

As a zoologist, says Father Martin Aye Ngwe, may I ask you something, Captain Louttit?

Fire away, says Captain Louttit.

You said you were a vegan, says Father Martin Aye Ngwe.

I did, and I am, says Captain Louttit.

And gave that as a reason to keep clear of my font, says Father Martin Aye Ngwe.

Aye, says Captain Louttit.

May I ask what is in a font that might deter a vegan? asks Father Martin Aye Ngwe.

The body and the blood, says Captain Louttit.

No, no, you have the wrong end of the stick there, say Father Martin Aye Ngwe. That is in the biscuits. This is water. However we do dip tiny children in it, so perhaps you show the greater wisdom.

Thank you, says Captain Louttit. I'm not too fond of river water either.

The rivers are pristine here in Tasmania, says Father Martin Aye Ngwe. So they tell me.

Been here long? asks Gaius.

Not long, says Father Martin Aye Ngwe. I am from Sydney. I was hounded out of Broken Bay, through no fault of my own, by the Lay Leadership Juggernaut.........but I won't trouble you with my story.

Father Martin Aye Ngwe looks sad momentarily.

Courage, says Schopenhauer. You have my sympathy. I remember being hounded out of Berlin University.

What happened to you there? asks Father Martin Aye Ngwe.

I scheduled my lectures to coincide with the lectures of Hegel, says Schopenhauer. And no one came to mine. He was the more famous of us at the time.

Gaius, Schopenhauer, Father Martin Aye Ngwe and Captain Louttit are silent as they contemplate the bad luck one can have.

Even the Virgin Mother, remembering her recent kicking, looks quite sour.