ards. It was foolish to tell
him these things, but one is tempted to tread on their ignorance, their
bigotry; all they say and do is based on hatred of life. Iconoclast and
peasant! He sent some religion-besotted slave to break my statue."

"I don't think Father McCabe would have done that; he has got me into a
great deal of trouble, but you are wronging him. He would not get a
ruffian to break into your studio."

Rodney and Lucy stood looking at each other, and she had spoken with
such conviction that he felt she might be right.

"But who else could do it except the priest? No one had any interest in
having it done except the priest. He as much as told me that he would
never get any pleasure from the statue now that he knew it had been
done from a naked woman. He went away thinking it out. Ireland is
emptying before them. By God, it must have been he. Now it all comes
back to me. He has as much as said that something of the temptation of
the naked woman would transpire through the draperies. He said that. He
said that it would be a very awful thing if the temptations of the
flesh were to transpire through the draperies of the Virgin. From the
beginning they have looked upon women as unclean things. They have
hated woman. Woman have to cover up their heads before they go into the
churches. Everything is impure in their eyes, in their impure eyes,
whereas I saw nothing in you but loveliness. He was shocked by those
round tapering legs; and would have liked to curse them; and the dainty
design of the hips, the beautiful little hips, and the breasts curved
like shells, that I modelled so well. It is he who blasphemes. They
blaspheme against Life.... My God, what a vile thing is the religious
mind. And all the love and veneration that went into that statue! There
it is: only a lump of clay."

"I am sure you are wronging Father Tom; he has his faults, but he would
not do such a thing as that."

"Yes," said Rodney, "he would. I know them better than you. I know the
creed. But you did not finish your story. Tell me what happened when he
began to suspect that you sat for the statue."

"He asked me if I had seen the statue of the Virgin in your studio. I
grew red all over. I could not answer him, and mother said, 'Why don't
you answer Father Tom?' I could see from his manner that he knew that I
had sat for the statue. And then he said he wanted to speak to father
and mother. Mother said I had read enough, that I had better