第2章

“Idon\'tintend。HaveInottoldyouthatI\'mnotgoingtomarryMr。 Holland?“ “Thatislikeoneofthephraseswhichyougivetoyourfather，sothatthepeoplemightthinkhimclever。Orthodox！Whocaresnowadaysforwhatisdullyorthodox?Whoeverheardofaheroinorthodoxynowadays?Thethingisimpossible。Theremaybe，ofcourse，thousandsoforthodoxheroes，butoneneverhearsanythingofthem。TheplanetsJupiterandSaturnandMercuryandMarsandtherestofthemcomeandgoattheirappointedseasons，andnooneevergivesthemasecondthought，pooroldrespectablethings！butthemomentacometappearsintheskyeveryonerushesouttogazeatit，andthenewspapersdealwithitfromdaytoday，andtheillustratedpapersgiveitsportrait。 Nothingcouldbemoreunorthodoxthanyourcomet。Oh，Phyllis，mychild，don\'ttalknowadaysoforthodoxyortheother——whatdotheycallit?——heterodoxy。Mr。Holland\'snamewillbeineveryone\'smouthforthenextyearatleast，andifhisbishoporafriendlychurchwardenprosecuteshim，andthethingisworkedupproperly，heoughttobebeforethepublicforthenextfiveyears。” “Oh，Ella！“ “I\'mnotoverstatingthecase，Iassureyou，mydear。AmanwastellingmeaboutoneColenso——hewas，sofarasIcouldgather，afirst-classmanatalgebraandheresyandthingslikethat。HewasBishopofZanzibarorUgandaorsomeplace，andhewroteabookaboutMoses——showingthatMosescouldn\'thavewrittensomethingorother。 Well，hetookabitofprosecuting，fiveorsixyears，Ibelieve，andhedidn\'tgonearlysofarasMr。Hollanddoesinthatbookofhis。 AllthistimepeopletalkedaboutlittleelsebutColenso，andhisbooksmadehimafortune。Thatwasbeforeourtime，dear——whenthenewspapersweren\'tworkedastheyarenow。Blockprintinghasmademoreheroesthanthelongestcampaignonrecord。Yes，Mr。Courtlandsaidsotwodaysago。IthinkI\'lltrysomemoreofthatlovelycake: it\'slikewarmice，isn\'tit?Oh，you\'llnotbesofoolishastothrowoveryourMr。Holland。” “Itisalreadydone，“saidPhyllis。“I\'msogladthatyoulikethecake。Itisverysubtle。Whatadelightfulidea——warmice！“ “Nevermindthecake。IwanttohearmoreofthismatterofMr。 Holland，“saidElla。“DoyoumeantotellmeplainlythatyouthrewoverMr。Hollandbecausehewroteabookthatwillbringhimfameandfortune?“ “IhavethrownoverMr。HollandbecausehehaswrittenabooktomakepeoplehavecontemptfortheBible，“saidPhyllis。 “ThenallIcansayisthatyouwereneverinlovewiththeman，“ criedElla。 “Youmaysaythatifyouplease。” “Idosayit。Ifagirlreallylovesaman，shewillmarryhimeventhoughheshouldwriteabookagainstDarwin。Ifagirlreallylovesamanshewillstandbyhimallthecloserwhenheisundergoingacourseofhonorablepersecution，withhisportraitineverypaperthatonepicksup。” “Idaresaythatistrueenough，“assentedPhyllis。“PerhapsIneverdidreallyloveMr。Holland。PerhapsIonlyfanciedIcaredforhimbecauseIsawthatsomanyothergirls——tooktowearingchocolatesandgraysandkepttheirsleevesdownjustwhensleeveswerehighest。” “Ofcourseitwasonlynaturalthatyoushouldwishto——well，colloquially，towipetheeyesoftheothergirls。Howmanygirls，I shouldliketoknow，begintothinkofamanasapossiblehusbanduntiltheyperceivethatthethoughtsofothergirlsareturnedinhisdirection?“ “Atanyrate，whateverImayhavedonelongago——“ “Threemonthsago。” “Threemonthsago。WhateverImayhavedonethen，IknowthatIdon\'tlovehimnow。” “Don\'tbetoosure，mydearPhyllis。Ifthereisonethingmorethananotheraboutwhichawomanshouldneverbepositive，itiswhetherornotshelovesaparticularman。Whatmistakestheymake！No，I\'llneverbelievethatyouturnedhimadriftsimplybecausehewrotesomethingdisparaginglyaboutSolomon，orwasitDavid?AndIdidsowantyouandhimformynextday；Imeantittobesucha/coup/，tohavereturnedtotownonlyaweekandyettohavethemostoutrageouslyunorthodoxparsonatmyhouse。Ah，thatwouldindeedhavebeena/coup/！Nevermind，Icanatleasthavethebeautifulgirlwho，thoughdevotedtotheunorthodoxparson，threwhimoveronaccountofhisunorthodoxy。” “Yes，youarecertainofme——thatis，ifyouthinkIshould——ifitwouldn\'tseemalittle——“ “Whatnonsense，Phyllis！Wherehaveyoubeenlivingforthepasttwenty-threeyearsthatyoushouldgetsuchafunnynotionintoyourhead?Doyouthinkthatgirlsnowadaysabsentthemselvesfromfelicityawhilewhentheyfinditnecessarytobecome——well，disengaged——yes，ordivorced，forthatmatter?“ “Ireallycan\'trecollectanycaseof——“ “Ofcourseyoucan\'t。Theydon\'texist。Theproperthingforawomentodowhenshegetsadivorceistotakeaboxatatheatreandgivetheaudienceachanceofrecognizingherfromherportraitsthathavealreadyappearedintheillustratedpapers。Theblockprintinghasdonethattoo。There\'snotatheatremanagerinLondonwhowouldn\'tgivehisbestboxtoawomanwhohascomestraightfromthedivorcecourt。Themanagersrecognizethefactthatsheisinthesamelineasthemselves。Butforyou，mydearPhyllis——oh，youwillneverdohimtheinjusticetokeepyourthrowingoverofhimasecret。” “Injustice?Oh，Ella！“ “Isayinjustice。Goodgracious，child！cannotyouseethatifitbecomesknownthatthegirlwhohadpromisedtomarryhimhasbrokenoffherengagementtohimsimplybecausehehaswrittenthatbook，theinterestthatattachestohimonaccountofhisunorthodoxywillbeimmeasurablyincreased?“ “Iwillnotdohimtheinjusticeoffancyingforamomentthathewouldbegratifiedonthisaccount。Whateverhemaybe，Ella，heisatleastsincereandsingle-mindedinhisaims。” “Ihavenodoubtofit，myonlyjoy。Buthoweversincereamanmaybeinhisaims，hestillcannotreasonablyobjecttothedistinctionthatisthrustuponhimwhenhehasdonesomethingoutofthecommon。Themenwhomakebooksknowthatthatsortofthingpays。Someonetoldmetheotherday——IbelieveitwasHerbertCourtland——thatitisthemenwhowritebooksembodyingagreatandnobleaimwhomaketheclosestbargainswiththeirpublishers。IheardofagreatandgoodclergymantheotherdaywhowroteaLifeofChrist，andthencomplainedinthepapersofhispublishershavingonlygivenhimamiserablepercentageontheprofits。Thatishowtheytalknowadays；theprofitresultingfromtheLifeofChrististobemeasuredinpounds，shillings，andpence。” “Mr。Hollandisnotamanofthisstamp，Ella。” “I\'msureheisnot。Atthesametimeifheisn\'tprosecutedforheterodoxynoonewillbemoredisappointedthanMr。Holland，unless，indeed，itbeMr。Holland\'spublisher。Whowouldbegrudgethemartyrhishalo，dear?Eventhemostsincereandsingle-mindedmartyrhasaneyeonthathalo。Thehalooftheup-to-datemartyrismadeupofafternoonteasprovidedbyfairwomen，andfull-pageportraitsintheillustratedpapers。” “Andallthisleadsto——what?“ “Itleadsto——letmesee——oh，yes，itleadstoyourappearanceatmylittlegathering。Ofcourse，you\'llcome。Believeme，you\'llnotfeeltheleastuncomfortable。YouwillbeTheGirlwhoSacrificedherLoveforConscience\'Sake。That\'sagoodenoughqualificationfordistinctiononthepartofanygirlinthesehardtimes。ButImighthaveknownlongagothatyouwouldplaythispart。Thatsweetlypatheticvoice，withthatfirmmouthandthoselovelysoftgrayeyesthatwouldseemtoacasualobservertoneutralizethefirmnessofthemouth。Oh，yes，myPhyllis，youhaveundoubtedly/laphysionomiedurole/。” “What/role/?“ “The/role/ofthegirlwhoisonthesideoftheBible。” “IamcertainlyonthesideoftheBible。” “AndsoamI。SoIwilllookforyoutobebymysideonTuesdayweek，andasoftenasyoupleaseinthemeantime。Bytheway，youwillprobablymeetHerbertCourtlandatourhouse。HeistheNewGuineaman，youknow。” “OfcourseIknow。Youtalkofwantingheroesinorthodoxyatyourhouse，whileyouhaveMr。Courtland，theNewGuineaexplorer，drinkinghisteaatyourelbow?Oh，goaway！“ “Ihopeyouwilllikehim。WesawagooddealofhiminItaly，andwillprobablyseeagooddealofhimhere。” “I\'mcertaintolikehim:youlikehim。” “Ah，that\'swhatyousaidtotheyoungwomenwhoputofftheircolorsandtooktosackclothinthepresenceofMr。Holland。Don\'tbetoosurethatyouwilllikeanymanbecauseotherwomenlikehim。Now，I have，asusual，remainedtoolongwithyou。I\'mgreatlyimpressedwiththesituationofthemoment。Idon\'tsaythatIthinkyouarewrong，mindyou。GirlsshouldalwaysbeonthesideoftheBible。Atanyrateyouhave，Irepeat，/laphysionomiedurole/，andyoucan\'tbefarastrayifyouactuptoit。Good-bye，mydearest。” CHAPTERVII。 THEDEFENSEOFHOLLAND。 EllaLintondrovetoacertainshopnotfarfromPiccadilly，——theonlyshopwherethearrangingoffeathersistreatedasascienceindependentofthefreaksoffashion，——andatthedoorshemetatallmanwiththecomplexionofmahoganybutwithfairhairandmustache。 Peoplenudgedoneanotherandwhisperedhisnameastheywalkedpasthimbeforestandingattheshopwindow，pretendingtoadmirethefeathers，butinrealitytoglancefurtivelyroundattheman。 ThenamethattheywhisperedtooneanotherafterthenudgewasHerbertCourtland。 Hetookoffhishat——itwasatallsilkone，butnoonewhoknewanythingcouldavoidfeelingthatitshouldhavebeenasolartoupee—— whenMrs。Lintonsteppedfromhervictoria。 “Oh，youhere！“saidshe。“Whoonearthwouldexpecttoseeyouhere?“ “You，“saidhe。 “What?“ “Youaskedmeaquestion。Iansweredit。” Shelaughedastheywalkedtogethertothedoorofthefeathershop。 “Itappearstomethatyouhaveaverygoodopinionofyourselfandaverybadoneofme，“sheremarked，smilinguptohisface。 “That\'sjustwhereyoumakeamistake，“saidhe。 “How?“ “IfIdidnotthinkwellofyouIshouldnothaveorderedParkinsontomakeyouafanofthetailofthemeteor。” “Oh，Bertie，youhavedonethat?“ “WhyshouldInotdoit?“ “Butitistheonlyoneintheworld。” “Ah，that\'sjustit。Youaretheonlyoneintheworld。” Shelaughedagain，lookinguptohisface。 “Well，we\'llhavealookatit，anyway，“saidshe。 Theywentintotheshoptoseethetailfeathersofthatwonderfulmeteor-birdwhichHerbertCourtlandhadjustbroughtbackfromNewGuineawithhim——themostgloriousthingthatnaturehadproducedandagreatexplorerhadriskedhislifetoacquire，inorderthatMrs。 Lintonmighthaveauniquefeatheredfan。 AboutthesametimetheRev。GeorgeHollandmetinthesamethoroughfarehisfriendandpatron，theEarlofEarlscourt。 “BytheLordHarry，you\'vedoneforyourselfnow，myhearty！“criedtheearl。“WhattheblazesdoyoumeanbyattackingtheWordofGodinthatfashion?“ “Tommy，“saidtheRev。GeorgeHolland，smilingapatronizingsmileathispatron，“Tommy，myfriend，ifyoutakemyadviceyou\'llnotmeddlewithwhatdoesn\'tconcernyou。You\'reapeer；betterleavetheWordofGodtome。I\'mnotapeer，butaparson。” “I\'llnotleaveitwithyou；itisn\'tsafe，“saidthepeer。“AnythingmoredamnablyatheisticalthanthatbookofyoursIneverread。” “Andyoudidn\'treadit，Thomas；youknowyouonlyreadascreechingreviewofit，andyoudidn\'tevenreadthatthrough，“saidtheparson。 “Whotoldyouthat?“askedthepatron。“Well，atanyrateIreadwhatyousaidaboutRuth。Itwasquitescandalous！Ruth！GoodLord！whatcharacterissafenowadays?OneoftheloveliestofthewomenoftheBible——mywifesaysso。Sheknowsallaboutthem。Andthebestpaintersintheworldhaveshownherstandingamongthefieldofoats。 BytheLord，sir，it\'ssheerblasphemy！andworsethanthat，it\'smakingpeople——good，religiouspeople，mind，nottheruck——it\'smakingthemaskwhytheblazesIgaveyoutheliving。It\'safact。” “I\'msorryforyou，Tommy——verysorry。I\'malsosorryforyourgoodreligiouspeople，andparticularlysorryforthephraseologyoftheirearnestinquiriesonwhatIamsureisamatteroflifeanddeathtothem——spiritually。That\'smylastword，Thomas。” “AndyouweredoingsowellattheJoss-house，too。”LordEarlscourtwasshakinghisheadsorrowfully，ashespoke。“Wewereallgettingonsocomfortably。Thatwaswhatpeoplesaidtome——theysaid——“ “Pardonme，I\'maparson，thereforeI\'mnotparticular；butIcan\'tstandthewayyourgoodreligiouspeopleexpressthemselves。” “Theysaid，\'It\'ssod——pleasanttogetholdofaparsonwhocanbetrustedinthepulpit——sermonswithagoodhealthymoraltone，andsoforth。YoumightbringyouryoungestdaughtertoSt。Chad\'sinthecertaintythatshewouldhearnothingthatwouldmakeheraskuncomfortablequestionswhenshegothome。\'It\'safact，theysaidthat；andnowyougoandspoilall。Thebishopwillhaveawordtosaytoyousomeofthesedays，mylad。HeranawaytotheContinent，theytellme，whenyourbookwaspublished，andit\'sperfectlywellknownthatheneverrunsawayunlessthingslookserious。Whenthebishopisserious，thosethatcan\'tswimhadbesttaketotheboats。” “I\'llaskyouforaseatinyouryacht，Tommy。Meantimekindestregardstoherladyship。” “Oh！bytheway，it\'snottrue，isit，thatthegirlhasthrownyouoveronaccountofthebook?“ ForaninstanttherecamealittleflushtothefaceoftheRev。 GeorgeHolland；thenheshiftedhisumbrellafromonehandtotheother，saying: “IfyoumeanPhyllis，allIcansayinreplyisthatsheisthebestandthetruestgirlaliveatpresent。I\'veanengagementataquarter- pastsix。” “Well，good-by。Itwasmymissuswhosaidthatthegirlwouldthrowyouoveronaccountofthatbook。” “Ah！Good-by。” “Honestlyspeaking，George，oldman，Ithinkyou\'vemadeamistakethistime。Peopledon\'tmindmuchaboutJacobandJonahandJeremiahandthewholejoblotofSheenies；buttheydomindaboutRuth。Hangitallman！shewasawoman。” “Ah！sowasJezebel，andyet——ah！good-by。I\'llbelateformyappointment。” “SeeyouonSunday，“saidtheearl，withabroadishsmile。 Andsohedid。 SodidthelargestcongregationthathadeverassembledwithinthevenerablewallsofSt。Chad\'s。Theyheardhimalso，andsodidthedozenreportersofthemorningpaperswhowerepresent——sometodescribe，withthesubtlefacetiousnessofthenewspaperreporter，theamusingoccurrencesincidentaltothechurchserviceoftheday，andotherstotakedownhissermontotheextentofhalfacolumntobeheaded“TheRev。GeorgeHollandDefendsHimself。”Onereporter，however，earnedanincreaseinhissalarybymakinghisheadline，“TheDefenseofHolland。”ItwassupposedthatcasualreaderswouldfancythatthekingdomofHollandhadbeenrepellinganinvader，andwouldnotfindouttheirmistakeuntiltheyhadreadhalfthroughthesermon。 GeorgeHollandhadnotbeenmistakenwhenhehadassumedthathisappearanceinthechurchandhissermonthisdaywouldattractalargeamountofattention。Asamatteroffactthebuildingwascrowdedwithnotablepersons:Cabinetministers(2)，judgesofthesuperiorcourts(4)，companypromoters(47)，actorsandactresses(3)，musichallandvarietyartists(22)，RoyalAcademician(1)。Literaturewasrepresentedbyaladywhohadwrittenahigh-churchnovel，andfashionbythepublisherwhohadproducedit。Scienceappearedinthepersonofaprofessionalthought-reader(female)。ThesewereallstrangerstoSt。Chad\'s，thoughsomeofthemcouldfollowtheservicequiteeasily。 Thehabituesofthechurchincludedseveralpeers，themembersofaforeignembassy，afewoutsidebrokers，quiteanumberofretiredofficersofbothservices，andsomeMembersofParliamentandtheLondonCountyCouncil。 Oneofthechaplainsofthebishopoccupiedaseatintheaisle； accordingtothefacetiousnewspaperheheldawatchingbrief。 Therectorwas，ofcourse，obliviousofhisbrilliantentourage。HecouldnoteventellifPhyllisorherfatherwerepresent。(Asamatteroffactbothwereintheiraccustomedseatsintheirownpew。) He，asusual，tookbutasmallpartintheritual——asLordEarlscourtonceremarked，GeorgeHollandwasn\'tsuchafoolastokeepadoganddothebarkinghimself。(Ithasalreadybeenstatedthathehadacoupleofexcellentcurates。)Butthesermonwaspreachedbyhimself，asindeeditusuallywasafterthemorningservice。 Itwasthemostbrilliantofallhisefforts。Hetookashistextthewords，“AllScriptureisgivenbyinspirationandisprofitable，“andhehadnodifficultyinshowinghowvastwastheprofittobederivedfromaconsiderationofeveryportionofthesacredvolume，itappearedtohim，thantheaccountgivenoftheearlyhistoryoftheHebrewrace。Thataccountappealedasanobjectlessontoallnationsonthefaceoftheearth。ItallowedeverypeopletoseethecoursewhichthechildrenofIsraelhadpursuedatvariousperiodsoftheirexistenceandtoprofitbysuchobservation。TheHebrewswereaterribleexampletoalltheworld。IftheywereslaveswheninthelandofEgypt，thatwastheirownfault。Miltonhadmagnificentlyexpressedtheoriginofslavery: “HethathathlightwithinhisownclearbreastMaywalki\'thenoontideandenjoybrightday，Buthethathidesdarkdeedsandfoulthoughts…… Himselfishisowndungeon。” ThebondageofEgyptwas，hebelieved，self-imposed。Thereisnoaccountavailable，hesaid，oftheenslavementoftheChildrenofIsraelbytheEgyptians，butacarefulconsiderationofthehistoryofvariouspeoplesshowsbeyondthepossibilityofamistakebeingmade，thatonlythosebecomeenslavedwhoarebestfittedforenslavement。A kingarosethatknewnotJoseph——akingwhocouldnotbelievethatatanytimetherewasbelongingtothatraceofstrangersamanofsupremeintelligence。TheIsraelitesbowedtheirheadstotheyokeofthesuperiorrace，theEgyptians，andtooktheirrightfulplaceasslaves。AftermanydaysamanofextraordinaryintelligenceappearedinthepersonofMoses。Apatriotofpatriots，hegavetheracetheirGod——theyseemedtohavelivedinaperfectlyGodlessconditioninEgypt；andtheirtheologyhadtobeconstructedforthembytheirleader，aswellastheirlaws:thelawsforthedesertwanderers，andadecalogueforallhumanity。Hewasequaltoanyemergency，andhehadnoscruples。Healmostsucceededinmakingagreatnationoutofahordeofsuperstitiousrobbers。Hadhesucceededtherecordwouldhavethrowncivilizationbackathousandyears。Happyitwasfortheworldthatthetriumphofcrimewasbrief。ThecementofbloodshedthatkeptthekingdomofIsraeltogetherforatimesoondissolved。Captivityfollowedcaptivity。Forathousandyearsnoimprovementwhatevertookplaceintheconditionofthepeople——theyhadnoarts；theylivedinmudhutsataperiodwhenarchitecturereachedahigherlevelthanithadeverattainedtopreviously。Whenthepatriotprophetsarose，endeavoringtoreformthemwithwordsoffire——thesacredfireoftruth——theykilledthem。Onechanceremainedtothem。Theywereofferedareligionthatwouldhavepurifiedthem，inplaceofthesuperstitionthathaddemoralizedthem，andtheycriedwithonevoice，aseveryonewhohadknowntheirhistoryandtheirsocialcharacteristicsknewtheywouldcry，“NotthisMan，butBarabbas。” ThatwasfromtheearliestperiodinthehistoryoftheracethewatchwordoftheHebrews。Nottheman，buttherobber。Allthatisgoodandnobleandtrueinmanhood——themercy，thecompassion，theself-sacrificethatarecomprisedintruemanhood——theycastbeneaththeirfeet，theyspatupon，theycrucified；butalloftheBarabbasinmantheyembraced。Thusaretheybecomeahissingintheearth，andproperlyso；forthosewhohissatthespiritwhichhasalwaysanimatedJudaismshowthattheyabhorathingthatisabhorrent。“AllScriptureisprofitable，“continuedthepreacher，“andpracticallyallthatisreferredtointhetextisanindictmentofJudaism。ThemoreearnestlyweholdtothistruththegreaterwillbetheprofitaccruingtousfromaconsiderationoftheScripture。ButwhatmoreterribleindictmentoftheHebrewsystemscouldwehavethanthatwhichisaffordedusintherecordthatthefatheroftheracehadtwelvesons?Hehad。Butwherearetenofthemnow?Sweptoutofexistencewithoutleavingasinglerecordoftheirdestructioneventotheirtwosurvivingbrethren。”HeconcludedhissermonbystatingthathehopeditwouldbeclearlyunderstoodthatherecognizedthefactthatinEnglandthosemembersoftheHebrewcommunitywhohadadoptedthemethods，theprinciples，thetruthsofChristianityeventhoughtheystillmaintainedtheirancientformofworshipintheirsynagogues，wereonalinewithcivilization。Theysearchedtheirscripturesandthesescriptureshadbeenprofitabletothem，inasmuchastheyhadbeentaughtbythosescriptureshowimpossibleitwasforthatformofsuperstitionknownasJudaismtobetheguideforanypeopleonthefaceoftheearth。 CHAPTERVIII。 IHOPETHATYOUWILLNOTEVENTUALLYMARRYANINFIDEL。 Someofthecongregationweregreatlydisappointed。TheyhadexpectedabrilliantandstartlingattackuponsomeotherBiblepersonageswhohadhithertobeenlookedonwithrespectandadmiration。ButthesermonhadonlyattackedtheJewishsystemasawhole，andeveryoneknowsthatthereisnothingpiquantinanattack，howevereloquentitmaybe，uponareligioussystemintheabstract。OnemightaswellfindentertainmentinanattackupontheMagneticPoleoradenunciationofthePrecessionoftheEquinoxes。Noonecared，theysaid，anythingmoreaboutthefailureofthelawsofMosesthanonedidaboutsuchabstractionsastheEarth\'sAxis，ortheGreatGlacialEpoch。Itwasquitedifferentwhenthecharactersofwell-knownindividualsweresubjectedtoanassault。Peoplecouldlistenforhourstoanattackuponcelebratedpersons。IfMr。Holland\'sbookhadonlydealtwiththecharacteristicsofthereligionoftheJews，itwouldneverhaveattractedattention，thesecriticssaid。IthadcalledfornoticesimplybecauseofitstrenchantremarksinregardtosomeofthoseBiblecelebritieswho，itwasgenerallyunderstood，wereconsideredworthyofadmiration。 WhycouldMr。HollandnothavefollowedupthecourseindicatedinhisbookbyshowingupsomeoftheotherpersonsintheBible?itwasasked。TherewerequiteanumberofcharactersintheBiblewhowereregardedasestimable。Whycouldhenotthenhavefolloweduphisoriginalschemeof“showingthemup?“——thatwasthephraseofthecritics。TherewasSolomon，forinstance。Hewasusuallyregardedasapersonofhighintellectualgifts；buttherewassurelyagooddealinhiscareerwhichwassusceptibleofpiquanttreatment。AndthensomeonesaidthatNoahshouldhaveachapteralltohimself，alsoLot； andwhataboutthespieswhohadenteredJericho?Couldtheimaginationnotsuggestthestorywhichtheyhadtoldtotheirwivesontheirreturntothecamp，relativetothehouseinwhichtheyhadpassedalltheirsparetime?TheysupposedthatJerichowastheParisofthehighclassJewsofthosedays。 ThentheconversationofthesecriticsdriftedontotheParisofto-day，andthesermonanditslessonswereforgottenaseasilyasisanordinarysermon。Butallthesameitwasplainthattheclergymanhadfallenshortofwhatwasexpectedofhimuponthisoccasion。Hisbookhadgonefar，anditwasfeltthatheshouldhavegoneonebetterthanhisbook，sotospeak。Insteadofthathissermonhadbeenonetowhichscarcelyanyexceptioncouldbetaken。 Butthebishop\'schaplain，whohadwatchedatintervalsofpraying，cametotheconclusionthattherectorofSt。Chad\'swasagooddealclevererthanthemajorityofyoungishclergymenwhoendeavortoqualifyforprosecution。Itmaybeunorthodoxtocrossone\'sarmswiththeregularityofclockworkoncomingtocertainwordsintheservice，andyoungclergymenhadbeenprosecutedforless；butitwasnotunorthodoxtospeakeviloftheJews——fordidnottheChurchprayfortheJewsdaily?andcananyoneinsultamanmorethanbyprayingforhim——unless，ofcourse，heisaking，inwhichcaseitisunderstoodthatnoinsultisintended? Thebishop\'schaplainpreparedareportofthesermonforhislordship，pointingoutitsgeneralharmony，broadlyspeaking，withthetenetsoftheChurch。 Mr。Ayrtonalsoseemedtoperceiveasortofclevernessinthesermon。 Therewasnothinginitthatwascalculatedtoshockeventhemostsusceptiblehearer。Indeed，itseemedtoMr。Ayrtonthattherewasagooddealinitthatwascalculatedtosoothethenervesofthosewhohadbeenshockedbythebook。Hesaidsomethingtothiseffecttohisdaughterastheywalkedhomeward。HewasratheranxioustofindoutwhatchanceGeorgeHollandhadofbeingrestoredtohisdaughter\'sfavor。 ButPhylliswasfirminhercondemnationofthemethodsofMr。 Holland。 “HeattackstheJewsasaraceinordertoridiculethestatementintheBiblethattheywereGod\'schosenpeople，andtheywere，youknow，papa，“shesaid。 “Theytooksomuchforgrantedthemselves，atanyrate，“saidherfather，withsomeshowofacquiescence。 “Buttheywere，andtheyaretoberestoredtotheirownland，“saidPhyllis。 “Arethey，mydear?Ishouldliketoseetheprospectusofthatenterprise。” “Youaremocking，papa。Theyaretoberestored；itsayssointheBiblequiteclearly。” “Iamnotmocking，Phyllis。IfgoldisdiscoveredinPalestine，theJewsmaygothereinsomenumbers；but，takemywordforit，theywon\'tgootherwise。Theycouldn\'tliveintheirownland，assumingthatitistheirown，whichisgoingprettyfar。Palestinewouldn\'tsupportalltheJewsaliveatpresent；it\'sawretchedcountry——Iknowitwell。Besides，theydon\'twanttoreturntoit，andfurthermore，wecouldn\'tsparethem。” “IbelieveintheBible，andIhavefaith，“saidPhyllisfirmly。 “That\'sright，“saidherfather。“Ihopeyoumayalwaysholdtoboth。 Ithinkthatthosegirlswhoexpecttoberegardedasadvanced，becausetheyscoffattheBibleandatfaith，arequitehorrid。Ialsohopethatyouwillnoteventuallymarryaninfidel。” “Thatwouldbeimpossible，“saidPhyllisfirmly。 “Wouldit?“saidherfather。“Thereisastrongerinfluenceatworkinmostofus，attimes，thanreligion。Iwonderifitwillmakeavictimofyou，mychild，thoughyoudidsendGeorgeHollandabouthisbusiness。” “Idon\'tquiteknowwhatyoumean，“saidPhyllis，withonlytheslightestpossibleflush。 Andshedidnotknowwhathemeantuntilsixmonthshadpassed；butthensheknew。 Seeingthatshedidnotknowwhathemeant，herfatherthankedHeaventhatHeavenhadgivenhimadaughterwhowasunlikeotherdaughters。 Heprayedthatshemightneverbecomelikeotherdaughters。Hethoughtthatitwouldbegoodforhisdaughtertoremainwithoutexperienceofthoseoverwhelmingpassionswhichmakeupthelifeofawomanandaman。 Phylliswentoutagooddealduringtheweek，andeverywhereshefoundherselflookedatwithinterest；sometimesshefoundherselfbeingexaminedthrougha/pince-nez/asifshewereacuriousspecimen，andawomanortwosmiledderisivelyather。Shedidnotknowwhatwasmeantbytheircuriosity——theirderision——untilonedayanoldladynamedMrs。Haddonwentuptoherandkissedher，saying: “ImadeupmymindthatIwouldkissyou，mydear，thefirstchanceI had。Godblessyou，mychild！Youhavegivenyourtestimonyasawomanshould，inthesedaysofscoffingatthetruth。” “Testimony?“saidPhyllis，quitepuzzled。Hadnotherfatherfeltathrillofgratitudeonreflectingthatshehadnoneofthequalitiesoftheprigabouther?“Testimony?“ “Youhavetestifiedtothetruth，MissAyrton，andyoushallhaveyourreward。Youhaveshownthatthetruthismoretoyouthan——thanlove—— theloveofman——allthatwomenholdsweetinlife。YouarerightMissAyrton；andalltruewomenmustloveandrespectyou。” Phyllisturnedaverybrilliantcolor，andkepthereyesfixedontheparquetpatternofthefloor。 Thedearoldladysaidagooddealmoretoher，allinpraiseofheractofhavinggivenMr。Hollandhis/conge/onaccountofhishavingwrittenthatshockinglyunorthodoxbook。 BytheendoftheweekPhyllisAyrtonwaslookedonasquiteasmuchaheroineforhavinggivenMr。Hollandhis/conge/，asMr。Hollandwasaheroforhavingbravedthebishopinwritingthebook。Sheworeherlaurelsmeekly，thoughshehadbeenratherembarrassedwhenarayofintelligenceappearedamongthedarksayingsofthedearoldlady。Shecouldnothelpwonderinghowalltheworldhadbecomepossessedoftheknowledgethatshehadsaidgood-bytoherlover。SheconsideredifitwerepossiblethatMr。Hollandhadspreadabroadtheaccountofherill-treatmentofhim——hewouldnaturallyalludetoitasill- treatment。ThequickjudgmentofEllaLintonhadenabledhertoperceivehowvaluabletoMr。HollandwastheincidentofhisrejectionbyPhyllis。Asabeginningofhispersecution，itsimportancecouldscarcelybeoverestimated。ButitdidnottakePhyllislongtoreassureherselfonthismatter。Itwas，ofcourse，Ellawhohadgiventheincidentpublicity。Shehaddonesofortworeasons:first，inorderthatherlittleafternoonAtHomemighthaveadditionallusterattachedtoitbythepresenceofayoungwomanwhohad，inthesedaysofamarriagemarketoverstockedwithyoungwomen(andoldwomen，forthatmatter)，thrownoveraneligiblemanforconscience\'sake；andsecondly，inorderthatherAtHomemighthaveadditionallusterattachedtoitfromthepresenceofthemanwhoallowedhimselftobethrownoverbyadelightfulgirlratherthanrefrainfrompublishingwhathebelievedtobethetruth。 Mrs。Lintonachievedboththeobjectswhich，asagoodhostess，shehadinview。Mr。HollandputinanappearanceinoneofMrs。Linton\'sbigdrawingrooms，andsodidPhyllisAyrton。 Everyoneadmittedthatonlyawomanofthesocialcapacity——somepeoplecalleditgenius——ofMrs。Lintoncouldaccomplishsuchafeatasthebringingintothesameroomtwopersonswhohadgivenunmistakableevidenceofpossessingaconscienceapiece——thewomanwhohadsacrificedthemanforconscience\'sake，andthemanwhohadsacrificedthewomanunderthesameinfluence。Itwasasocialtriumph，beyonddoubt。 Peopletalkedinwhispersofconscience，theadvantagesandthedisadvantagesofitspossession，andtheconsensusofopinionwasofitsbeingquiteappropriateinregardtoaclergyman，andthatitwasnotaltogetheroutofplaceonthepartofaspinster，providedthatshehadcounteractingvirtues；but，onthewhole，itwasperhapswisertoleavetheconsciencewiththeNonconformists。 PhyllisdidnotseeGeorgeHollanduntilshehadgothalfwayupthefirstofMrs。Linton\'srooms。ShedidnothearherfriendEllasaytosomeone，inalowvoiceofapprehension: “ForHeaven\'ssake，keepthemapart！Theyarejustthesortofpeopletogreeteachotherquitecordially；andiftheydo，nooneherewillbelievethattheirengagementisoff。Peopleheredon\'tunderstandhowadelicateconscienceworks。” ThatwaswhatEllamurmuredtoamanwhohadbeeninvitedinorderthathemightmakehimselfgenerallyuseful。Shegavehimhisinstructionstoolate，however。BeforeshehadquitecompletedhergreetingofPhyllis，Mr。Hollandwasbesidethem。 Hehadnotforcedhimselfforwardwithanymeasureofpersistency；nooneseemedtonoticeanymovementonhispartuntilhehadshakenhandswithPhyllis，andwaschattingwithherandMrs。Lintonquitepleasantly——muchtoopleasantlyforamanwithaconscience，someonesaidlaterintheafternoon；butthatwassomeonewhowantedtotalktoPhyllishimself。 Peoplewatchedherwhenshesufferedherselftobegraduallywithdrawnfromthecenteroftheroomtoaseatthatchancedtobevacant，justbehindtheopendooroftheconservatory。Coulditbepossible，theyaskedoneanother，thatshehadindeedgivenhisdismissaltoMr。 Hollandthepreviousweek?Why，theywerechattingtogetheraspleasantlyastheyhadeverchatted。Hadnotthepeoplewhotalkedsogliblyofconscienceanditsmysteriousoperationsspokenalittletoosoon?Orhadthequarrelbeenpatchedup?Ifso，whichofthetwohadgotridoftheconsciencethathadbroughtabouttheoriginalrupture? Thesequestionswereansweredatdiversplacesbydiverspersons，allthetimethatGeorgeHollandandPhyllisAyrtonremainedsidebysideattheentrancetotheconservatory，atthefurtherendofwhichavocalquartettepartysangdelightfully——delightfully；sufficientlyloudtoenablealltheguestswhowantedtotalktodosowithoutinconvenience，andatthesametimenotsoloudastobecomeobtrusive。Itissoseldomthataquartettepartymanagetohitthishappymedium，peoplesaid。Theygenerallysingasiftheyfancythatpeoplecometogethertohearthem，notrememberingthatthelegitimateobjectofmusicatanAtHomeistoactasanaccompanimenttotheconversation。 WhenPhylliswasleavingthehousehalfanhourlater，amanwasjustenteringthefirstdrawingroom——amanwithafaceburnttothecolorofanoldmezzotint。 Helookedatherforamomentashepassedher，forherfacehadsuddenlylightedup，assuchafaceashersdoesuponoccasions。 ThemancouldscarcelyfailtoperceivethatsheknewhisnamewasHerbertCourtland。 ButthenhewasaccustomedtoberecognizedbywomenaswellasmenineverypartofEurope，sincehehadreturnedfromNewGuineawiththetailfeathersofthemeteor-bird，whichwerenowbeingmadeintoafanforMrs。Linton。 CHAPTERIX。 MYFATHERHASHISIDEASONWHAT\'SCALLEDREALISM。 ThelastrumbleofapplausehaddiedawayattheParthenonTheater，buttheaudiencewereleavingveryslowly；theywishedtolingeraslongaspossiblewithintheatmosphereofthebuilding；though，liketheatmosphereofmanysacredplaces，thatoftheParthenonwas，justatthattime，atrifleunsavory。Thefirstperformanceofthedramaof“Cagliostro“hadjusttakenplace，and，asthefirstnightsattheParthenonareinvariablyregardedasthemostexclusivefunctionsoftheyear，thestallsandboxeshadbeencrowded。AndthedistinctionwhichinMayfairandBelgraviaattachestothosewhohavebeenintheboxesandstallsonParthenonfirstnightisnotgreaterthanthatwhich，inBloomsburyandCamdenTown，accruestothosewhohaveoccupiedplaces——notnecessarilyseats——intheotherpartsofthehouse。Itisunderstood，too，thatthegoodwillofBloomsburyandCamdenTownismuchmorevaluabletoaplaythanthebestwishesofMayfairandBelgravia。 Thegraciousmanagerhadmadehiscustomaryspeechofthanks，——foreverythingproducedattheParthenonwasasuccess，——andwhilethegeneralaudienceweremovingawayveryreluctantly，somedistinguishedmenandwomenfollowedtheguidanceofastrongIrishbrogueasaflockfollowsabell-wether，throughadoorthatledtothestage。 Herethegreatactorandtheever-charmingladywhodividedwithhimtheaffectionsofWestaswellasEast，receivedtheirguests\' congratulationsinsuchawayasmadetheguestsfeelthatthesuccesswaswhollyduetotheirgoodwill。 Mrs。Linton，whowasapersonageinsociety，——herhusbandhadfoundagoldmine(withtheassistanceofHerbertCourtland)andshehadherselfwrittenabookoftravelswhichdidnotsell，——hadbroughtPhylliswithherpartytothetheater，andtheyhadgoneonthestagewiththeothernotabilities，attheconclusionoftheperformance。 GeorgeHolland，havingbecomeasgreatacelebrityasthebestofthemduringthatpreviousfortnight，hadnaturallyreceivedastallandaninvitationtothestageattheconclusionoftheperformance。HehadnotbeenofMrs。Linton\'sparty，buthelayinwaitforthatpartyastheyemergedfromtheirbox。 Anothermanalsolayinwaitforthem，andpeople——outsiders——nudgedoneanotherinthetheaterasthepassersdownPiccadillyhadnudgedoneanother，whisperinghisname，HerbertCourtland。Others——theywerenotquitesuchoutsiders——nudgedoneanotherwhenMrs。Lintonlaiddownhernewfeatherfanontheledgeofthebox。Itwaspossiblytheloveliestthingthatexistedintheworldatthatmoment。Noartisthadeverdreamedofsowonderfulaschemeofcolor——suchmiraclesofcolor——combinationsineveryfeatherfromthequilltothespider-web- likefluffsatthetips，eachofwhichshonenotlikegoldbutlikeglass。Itwaswellworthallthenudgingthatitcalledforth。 ButwhenMrs。Lintonhadpickeditupfromtheledge，beginningtooscillateitinfrontofherfairface，thenudgingceased。Peoplelookedatthethingwitheyeswidewithastonishment，butwithlipsmute。 Amoresatisfactoryeveningshehadneverspent，Mrs。Lintonfelt；andnowthefanwashangingdownamongthebrocadedflowersofherdress，makingthemlooktawdryassheleftthebox，andnoticedhowatleasttwomenwerelyinginwaitforherparty。Therewas，however，afranknessinHerbertCourtland\'sstrategywhichGeorgeHolland\'sdidnotpossess。Mr。Courtlandwaslookingdirectlyather；Mr。Hollandwaspretendingtobeengrossedinconversationwithamaninoneoftheendstalls。 SheliftedafingerandCourtlandwenttoherside。ThedifficultiesofthejunglealongthebanksoftheFlyRiverweretriflingcomparedwiththeobstacleshehadtoovercomeinobeyingher。 “Ihadnoideathatyouwouldbehere，“shesaid。 “WhereelseshouldIbe?“hesaid，insolowatoneastobeheardonlybyher。 “Wearesoglad，“saidMrs。Linton。“Iwanttopresentyoutomydearestfriend，PhyllisAyrton。” “Awoman！“saidhe。 “Notyet。Shehasnevermetaman。Shewillto-night，“saidElla。ThensheturnedtoPhyllis，whowaswalkingbesideLordEarlscourt。“Comehere，Phyllis，“shesaid；“youaretheonlypersoninLondonwhodoesn\'tyetknowMr。HerbertCourtland。ThisisMr。Courtland。” ThusitwasthatPhylliswentuponthestageoftheParthenonbythesideofHerbertCourtlandinsteadofbythesideofGeorgeHolland； andthelittlelaughthatMrs。Lintongavewasduetohercarefulobservationofthelatter\'sfacewhenheperceived，ashedidinspiteoftheengrossingnatureofhisconversationwithhisfriendintheendstall，howhisdesignshadbeendefeatedbyhertactics。ShewouldnothavemindedhavingHerbertCourtlandwithherforthehourtheymightremainatthetheater，butshehadmadeuphermindthatitwasnottoPhyllis\'advantagethatMr。Hollandshouldcontinuebyhersideinpublicaftershehadgivenhimhisdismissal。 Shealsoperceived，withevengreatergratification，thatHerbertCourtlandwaslookingnearlyasdissatisfiedwiththeresultofhertacticsasGeorgeHolland。IfhehadlookedpleasedatbeingbythesideofPhylliswhenheexpectedtobewithher——Ella——whatwouldlifebeworthtoher? ButifhewasdissatisfiedatbeingwithPhyllisinsteadofMrs。 Linton，hedidnotconsiderthatanyreasonforneglectingtheformer。 Hewonderedifshehadanychoiceinsandwiches——ofcourseshehadinchampagne。Hiscuriositywassatisfied，andPhylliswasamplyprovidedfor。 “YouareMrs。Linton\'sdearestfriend，“heremarkedcasually，astheyleanedupagainsttheprofileoftheChurchscenein“Cagliostro，“fortheywerestandinginthe“wings“——tobeexact——ontheO。P。side。 “Sheismydearestfriend，atanyrate，“saidPhyllis。 “Youwerenotatschooltogether。Sheisfourorfiveyearsolderthanyou。” “Onlythree。Whenshegotmarriedsheseemedtometobealmostvenerable。Threeyearsseemedalongtimethen。” “Butnowyoufancythatyouhaveformedarightideaofwhatismeantbythreeyears?“ “Well，abetteridea，atanyrate。” “Youarestillagoodwayoffit。Butifyouhaveformedarightestimateofawoman\'sfriendship——“ “That\'sstillsomething，youmeantosay?Butwhydidyoustopshort，Mr。Courtland?“ Phylliswaslookinguptohisfacewithasmileofinquiry。 “IwasafraidthatyoumightthinkIwasonthewaytopreachasermononthetextofwoman\'sfriendship。Ipulledmyselfupjustintime。 I\'mgladthatIdidn\'tfrightenyou。” “Oh，no；youdidn\'tfrightenme，Mr。Courtland。Iwasonlywonderinghowyouwouldgoon——whetheryouwouldtreatthetopicsentimentallyorcynically。” “Andwhatconclusiondidyoucometoonthesubject?“ “Iknowthatyouareabraveman——perhapsthebravestmanalive。Youwould，Ithink，havetreatedthequestionseriously——feelingly。” Helaughed。 “Theadoptionofthatcourseimpliescouragecertainly。Allthemenofsentimentality——whichissomethingquitedifferentfromsentiment，mindyou——havetakentowritingmelodramaandpennynovelettes。Youdidn\'thearmuchsentimentalityonthisstageto-night，oranyothernight，forthatmatter。” “No；itwouldhavesoundedunreal。AParthenonaudiencewouldresentwhattheybelievedtobeafalsenoteinart；andaParthenonaudienceissupposedtobetheconcentrationofthespiritoftheperiodinthoughtandart；isn\'tit?“ “Idon\'tknow。I\'mhalfasavage。ButIliketothinkthebestofaParthenonaudience；youandIformedpartofthatconcentrationto-night——yes，Iliketothinkthebestofit。Isupposeweknow——we，theParthenonaudience，Imean——whatourfeelingsareontheartofacting——theartofplay-writing。” “Ishouldn\'tliketohavetodefinemyfeelingsatamoment\'snotice。” “Onemustmakeabeginning，andthenworkupgraduallytothedefinition。” “Forinstance——“ “Well，forinstance，there\'ssomethingthatpeoplecallrealismnowadays。” “Myfatherhashisideasonwhat\'scalledrealism，“Phyllislaughed。 “\'Realisminpaintingistheidealwithasmudge。\'“ “Ishouldliketohearwhatyouthinkofit?“ Healsolaughedsympathetically。 “Oh，Ionlyventuretothinkthatrealismistheoppositetoreality。” “And，sofarasIcangather，yourdefinitionisnotwantinginbreadth——no，norinaccuracy。Sentimentalityistheoppositetosentiment。” “Thatisapointonwhichweagreedamomentago。Myfathersaysthatsentimentisastrongman\'sconcealmentofwhathefeels，whilesentimentalityisaweakman\'sexpressionofwhathedoesn\'tfeel。” “AndtheParthenonaudience——youandI——laughatthelatter——thatis，becausewehavepracticedsomeformofathletics。Thebicyclehasgivenits/coupdegrace/tosentimentality。Thatmanovertherewiththeheadandfacelikealion\'s，andthatwomanwhosefaceisnatureilluminated，havelongagorecognizedtheshallownessofsentimentality——thedepthsofsentiment。Wecouldnotimagineeitherofthemstrikingafalsenote。Theyhavebeentheteachersofthisgeneration——thegenerationtowhichyoubelong。GreatHeavens！tothinkthatforsomanyyearshumanpassionshouldbebanishedfromart，thougheverylineofShakspereistremulouswithpassion！Why，thewordwasabsolutelybanished；itwasregardedasimpure。” “Iknowthat——Iwasataboardingschool。Thepreceptressesregardedasimpureeverythingthatishuman。” “Whereas，justtheoppositeisthecase?“ “Ididn\'tsaythat，Mr。Courtland。” “Youcouldscarcelysayit。Iamonlybeginningtothinkit，andI havelivedamongsavagesforyears。Thatmanwiththelion\'sfacehasnotfearedtodealwithpassion。AllactorswhohavelivedsinceGarrickhavenevergonefurtherthantoillustratepassioninthehandsofaman；butthatlion-man，whosestagewearenowstandingon，showsusnotthepassioninthehandsofaman，butthemaninthehandsofthepassion。Themanwhotearsthepassiontotattersistherobustiousperiwig-patedfellow；theactor，whoshowsusthemantornintattersbythepassion，isthesupremeartist。Iamnoauthorityonmodernliterature；butImustconfessthatIwasastonishedatthechangethatafewyearshavebroughtabout。Iwasinaproperpositionfornoticingit，havingbeenpracticallywithoutbooksfortwoyears。” “Isitachangeforthebetter，doyouthink，Mr。Courtland?“ “Ifeelcertainthatitisforthebetter。Irefer，ofcourse，onlytothebooksofthoserealinvestigators——realartists。Irefertothefountain-heads，nottothehydrantslaiddownbythewatercompaniesattheendofabouttenmilesoffoulpiping。Idon\'tliketheproductofthehydrants。Ilikethesprings，and，howevernaturaltheymaybe，Idon\'tfindanythingimpureinthem。WhyIlovetheBibleisbecauseitissoverymodern。” “Youdon\'tthink，then，thatitisyetobsolete，Mr。Courtland?“ “Nobookthatdealssotrulywithmenandwomencaneverbeobsolete，thefactbeingthatmenandwomenarethesameto-dayastheyweretenthousandyearsago，perhapstenmillionyearsago，thoughI\'mnotquitesosureofthat。TheBible，andShakspere，andRofudingding，aNewGuineapoet，whoatemenforhisdinnerwhenhehadachance，and，whenhehadfinished，sanglyricsthatstirtheheartsofallhisfellow-islanderstothisday，——helivedahundredyearsago，——dealtwithmenandwomen；thatiswhyallareasimpressiveto-dayastheywerewhenoriginallycomposed。Menandwomenlikereadingaboutmenandwomen，anditisbecomingunderstood，nowadays，thatthetruthaboutmenandwomencanneverbecontemptible。” “Ah，buthowdoweknowthatitisthetruth?“ “Thereinthemetaphysicianmustministertohimself。Icannotsuggesttoyouanytestofthetruth，ifyouhavenonewithyou。EveryonecapableofpronouncingajudgmentonanymattermustfeelhowtruthfullythepersonagesintheBiblehavebeendrawn。” “Yes；theBibleistheWordofGod。” “Ibelievethatitis，mostcertainly。Thatprofoundwisdom；thattolerationoftheweaknessesofmen；thatsympathywithmen，whocannotfathomthemysteriesoflife，andthestruggleforlifeofallthingsthatlovelife；thatspiritIcallGod，andIdon\'tthinkthatabetternamehasbeenfoundforit。” “It——for/it/?YouthinkofGodasmerelyaforceofnature?“ “Justthecontrary。Godisthespiritthatlivesinwarfarewithnature。GreatHeavens！isn\'tthatthetruthofwhichthewholeBibleistheallegory?Natureandnature\'slawsconstitutetheDevil。GodistheopposingForce。Itisalawofnaturetokillofftheweak，tocrushthatwhichhasfalleninthestruggle。ItisGodwhohelpstheweak——whohelpsthefeeble。” “Butmerelyaforce?“ “Oh，Ihavenoprivateopiniononthatpartofthequestion。IamnotlikethatmodernphilosopherwhofanciedhehadsolvedthewholeproblembyspellingGodwithasmallg。Butdon\'tyouthinkthatwehavegonequitefarenoughinourexchangeofconfidenceforafirstmeeting?YouarewhattheItalianscall/simpatica/——thatis，morethanmerelysympathetic。Youlookatone，andleadoneontoconfideinyouasonedoesnotconfideinmostgirls。Youareathoroughlydangerousyoungwoman，MissAyrton，thoughyouareMrs。Linton\'sdearestfriend。Bytheway，canyoumakeherconfideinyou?“ Thereseemedtobeameasureofcuriosity，nottosayanxiety，inthetoneofthisinquiry。 “Well，shemakesmeconfideinher。Iwonderifthatisjustthesamething，“saidPhyllis。 “It\'snotexactlythesamething，“saidhe。“Butit\'sthepropercoursefordearestfriendstoadopttowardeachother。Forthemaintenanceofafirmfriendshipbetweenanytwopersons，onlyoneshouldconfide；theothershouldbestrictlytheconfidante。Bytheway，Iwonderwhatistheaveragedurationofthedearestfriendshipbetweentwowomen。” “Whyshouldithaveanylimits?“saidPhyllisgravely。“Whatisthedurationofthefriendshipbetweentwomen?“ “Itmostlydependsonwhenthewomanmakesherappearance，“saidhe，withalaugh。 “Ah！Sothat——Ah，nevermind。EllawasmydearestfriendbeforeMr。 Lintonputinanappearance。” “Andhewasminebeforesheputinanappearance，“saidhe。 “Ididn\'tknowthat，“saidPhyllis。 “There，yousee，ismycontentionborneout，“saidhe。“Youaretheonewhoconfides；sheistheonewhoreceivestheconfidences，andrespectsthem，I\'msure。Ihopethatyouwilldothesame，MissAyrton。Don\'tletanyoneknowthatIconfidedinyouallthatIthinkonthesubjectoftheoldAdamandthenewEve。” “NooneexceptEllaLinton，andyouknowthatIcankeepnothingfromherifwearetoremaindearestfriends。Perhapssheknowsalreadythelimitsofyourbelief，Mr。Courtland。” “Shedoes——shedoes。” AtthatmomentEllaLintoncameupwithLordEarlscourt。 “HasMr。Courtlandbeentellingyouallaboutthebirdofparadise?“ sheaskedofPhyllis，whileshewavedthetailfeathersoftheloveliestofthebirdsofparadisebeforeherface。 “Thebird?——notthe/bird/，“laughedPhyllis。 “Butthetopicwasparadise?“Ellajoinedinthelaugh——yes，tosomeextent。 “ItalkedofAdam——theoldoneofthatname，“saidMr。Courtland。 “AndEve——thenewoneofthatname，“saidPhyllis。 “Theologyisintheair！“criedElla。“Eventhestageofatheaterisnotfreefromthetaint。ItmustbethecaseofMr。Holland。WhereisMr。Holland，bytheway，LordEarlscourt?“ “Ihaven\'tseenhimforsometime。Hemusthavegoneaway。I\'mnotMr。 Holland\'skeeper，thankHeaven！“saidLordEarlscourt，withheartfeltdevoutness。 “Nowyouknowthateveryoneholdsyouaccountableforwhathehasdone！“saidElla。 “Thenthat\'sjustwhereeveryonemakesamistake，“saidhe。“GreatLord！isityourideaofBritishjusticetopersecutethewrongman? Whydoesn\'tthebishopdohisduty?Whatdowepayhimfor?“ “Wewon\'tabandonourcharityatthecalloftheology，“saidElla。 “Theology——representedbyLordEarlscourt，“saidMr。Courtland。 “Youdon\'tknowhowI\'vebeenabusedduringthepastfortnight，indeedyoudon\'t，“moanedLordEarlscourt。“Why，there\'smyownwife，sheabusedmelikeacab-driverbecauseGeorgeHollandhadbeenwithusontheplatformwhentheChineseteetotalerscameheretoprotestagainstthepublichousesinEngland；shesaysthathisbackslidingwillputbackthecauseaquarterofacentury。Thentherearetheotherchurchwardens；theylookonmeasifIhadbeenmakingasuggestiontorafflethesacredplate。GeorgeHollandhasarunforhismoney，butI\'vehadnofunoutofit。” “Itdoesseemhard，“saidCourtland。“Butit\'splainthatthecasecallsforpersecution，andwhynotpersecuteyou?Someonemustbepersecuted，you\'lladmit。” “Thenwhythe——“ “IthoughtthatyourgoodoldBunyipwouldlookinonusbeforelong，“ saidCourtland。“There\'snopossibilityofdiscussingdelicatepointsintheologywithouthim。” “Ithinkwehadbettergohome，“saidElla。 “Wemusthavesomeconsiderationforourhost，“saidCourtland。“Wedidn\'tallplaythepartof/Cagliostro/to-night。” Duringthemovementofhercircleandtheadjustmentofwraps，preparatorytothedeliveryofavaledictorywordofcongratulationtothegreatactor，EllasaidinalowtonetoHerbertCourtland: “Cagliostro?No；wedidn\'tallplaythepart；but——well，Cagliostrowasaweaverofspells。” Therewasapausebeforehesaid: “Yes，buttheartdidnotdiewithhim。Hehadadaughtertowhomhetaughthisart。” “NotthatIeverheardof，“saidshe。“WhatdoyouthinkofPhyllisAyrton?“ “Ithinkthatsheisthedearestfriendofmydearestfriend，“hereplied。 “AndIshouldlikehertobecomethedearestfriendofmydearestfriend。” “Thatwouldbeimpossible，“hesaid。 Thenthefelicitousvaledictorywordwassaidtothegreatactorandactress，andMrs。Linton\'scarriagereceivedPhyllis。LordEarlscourttookaseatinMr。Courtland\'shansom。 “WhatdoyouthinkaboutMr。Courtland?“inquiredEllaofherdearestfriend，astheylaybackwiththeirheadsveryclosetogether。 TherewasalongpausebeforePhyllisreplied: “Ireallydon\'tknowwhatIthinkabouthim。Heis，Isuppose，thebravestmanaliveatpresent。” “What?Isthattheresultofyourhalfhour\'schatwithhim?“ “Oh，dear，no！butallthesame，it\'spleasantforagirltofeelthatshehasbeentalkingtoabraveman。Itgivesoneasenseof——of——isitofbeingquitesafe?“ “Goodgracious，no！justtheopposite——thatis——Oh，youdon\'tunderstand。” “No，Idon\'t。” “Nevermind。Tellmewhathetalkedabout?“ “Oh，everything！God。” “Iknowthatitwasintheair。Hehasideas，Ibelieve。Henevertalkedonthattopictome。Ihopeyoufoundhimtobequitesound，theologically。” “Butitseemsratherfunny，doesn\'tit?“saidPhyllis；“butIreallydon\'tthinkthatwhenIwaslisteningtohimIconsideredforamomentwhetherhewassoundortheoppositeinhisviews。” “Funny?Itwouldhavebeenratherfunnyifyouhaddonethat，“laughedElla。“Thequestionthatahealthygirl——andyouareahealthygirl，Phyllis——asksherselfaftertalkingtosuchamanasHerbertCourtlandisnot，Ishistheologysound?WhathealthygirlcaresthefractionofafarthingaboutthetheologyofamanwithafacelikeHerbertCourtland\'sandarmslikeHerbertCourtland\'s?Youtalkedwithhimforhalfanhour，andthencometomeandsaythatyousupposeheisthebravestmanaliveintheworld。Thatwasright——quiteright。Thatisjustwhateveryhealthygirlshouldsay。Weunderstandaman\'sthewsandsinews；welikewiseunderstandwhatbraveryinamanis，butwhatdoweknow，or，forthatmatter，careabouthistheology，whetheritissoundortheopposite?Nothing。Wedon\'tevencarewhetherhehasanytheologyornot。” “Goodgracious，Ella！onewouldfancythatyouthought——“ “Thoughtwhat?“ “Idon\'tquiteknow。YouseeImetMr。Courtlandquitecasually，justasImetadozenmenatvariousplacesduringtheweek。Whyshouldyouquestionmemorecloselyabouthimthanaboutthedozenothermen?Heonlytalkedalittlemorewidely，andperhapswildly。Hisbraveryisnomoretomethanhistheology。” “Ofcourseitisn\'t，Phyllis。ButtherewasthecaseofGeorgeHolland——“ “Thatisverydifferent，Ella。IhadengagedmyselftomarryGeorgeHolland。Itwouldbeimpossibleformetomarryanymanwhohadshownhiscontemptfor——foreverythingthatIregardassacred。” “Ibelieveitwould，ifyoudidn\'tlovethatman。Butifyoulovedtheman——Oh，whenyoucometoknowwhatitmeanstoloveyouwillunderstandall。Awomanbeforeshelovesis——whatisshe，aneggbeforeitishatched?Thatsoundsridiculous。Bettersayagreenchrysalisbeforeitbreaksintoabutterfly；forthetransitioncomesatonce。Theology！Oh，myPhyllis，haven\'tyoureadinhistory，truehistory——novelswrittenbymenwhoknowusandhowwewerecreated，andwhy——haven\'tyoureadwhatwomendowhentheytrulyloveaman? Howtheyflingeveryconsiderationtothewinds:heaven——home——husband——God——Mrs。Grundy?Theology！Ah，youareahealthygirl。YounevercaredascrapforGeorgeHolland。Youweregladwhentheexcusepresenteditselfinordertothrowhimover。” “Yes；Ibelievethatisquitetrue。” Ella\'scryofsurprise，andherlaughthatfollowed，shockedhercompanion，andfeelingthatthiswasthecase，theonewholaughedhastenedtomakeherapologies。 “Don\'tbeannoyedwithme，dear，“shecried。“ButIreallycouldn\'thelpthatlaughwhenIthoughtofyourearnestnesstheweekbeforelast。Then，youwillremember，youwereingreatpainbecauseoftheheterodoxyofGeorgeHolland。Didn\'tItellyouatthattimethatyouhadneverlovedhim?Youwerereadytoassuremethatyouhad，andthatyouweremakingagreatsacrificetoyourprinciples?“ “Irememberverywell，“saidPhyllis，withasoundthatwasnotfarremovedfromasob。 “Ah，youareapuzzletoyourself，youpoorlittlechrysalis，“saidElla，puttingthemeteoricfeathersplayfullydownupontheseriousfaceofPhyllis——itsseriousnesswasapparentbeneaththelightofthecarriagelamp。“No，don\'tmaketheattempttoexplainanythingtome。 Don\'ttrytoreconcileyourfranknessnowwithyourpretensethen，becauseyou\'llcertainlymakeamuddleofit，andbecausenosuchattemptisnecessarytobemadetome。Iknowsomethingofthegirlandhermoods——notagreatdeal，perhaps，butenoughtopreventmydoingyouaninjustice。Youareperfectlyconsistent，myPhyllis。” “Oh，consistent?“ “Perfectlyconsistentwithyournatureasagirl。Itisthenatureofagirltochangewitheverywindthatblows。Itisonlythefemaleprigwhoactsconsistentlyunderallcircumstances。Inaworldtheleadingofwhichisitsmen，inconsistencyisthebestnatureofahealthygirlmadetobelovedbymen。Onedoesn\'tsneerattheweathercockbecauseonehouritpointstothenorthandthenexttotheeast。\'Tisitsnatureto。\'Tisournaturetochangewitheverybreezeofmanthatbearsdownonus。That\'swhytheyloveusanddetesttheprigs。Hereweareatyourhouse。Ihopeyoudon\'tkeepyourmaidupforyou。Iwouldscorntokeepagirloutofherbedforthesakeofbrushingmyhair。Good-night，dear，anddreamoftheparadisethatawaitsyou——aparadiseinwhichtherearebirdstobeshot，birdsofparadisetomakefeatherfansforwomenwhoholdthemtotheirbosomsoneminute，andthenextdisposeofthemtoMr。andMme。Abednegowithlastseason\'soperawrap。There\'saparableforyoutosleepupon。” “Andyou——you?“criedPhyllis。 “Oh，asforme，I\'ll，I\'ll——well，IthinkI\'llputmymeteorfanonthepillowbesidemyownto-night。I\'mstillnewfangledwithmytoyand——well，I\'mawoman。” AtthisinstantthecarriagepulleduptoMr。Ayrton\'shalldoorandthefootmanjumpeddownfromtheboxtorunupthestepsandringthebell。 “Good-night，“saidPhyllis。“Ienjoyedmyeveninggreatly，andthedrivehomebestofall。” EllaLinton\'slaughwassmotheredamongthedelicateflossofthefeatherswhichshehelduptoherface。