f about them, though they are very honest people at the same
time. Now what does the man" (who on enquiry my father found to be none
other than Mr. Turvey himself) "say about honesty?"

"He says, sir, that honesty does not consist in never stealing, but in
knowing how and where it will be safe to do so."

"Remember," said Mr. Turvey to my father, "how necessary it is that we
should have a plentiful supply of thieves, if honest men are ever to come
by their own."

He spoke with the utmost gravity, evidently quite easy in his mind that
his scheme was the only one by which truth could be successfully
attained.

"But pray let me have any criticism you may feel inclined to make."

"I have none," said my father. "Your system commends itself to common
sense; it is the one adopted in the law courts, and it lies at the very
foundation of party government. If your academic bodies can supply the
country with a sufficient number of thieves--which I have no doubt they
can--there seems no limit to the amount of truth that may be attained.
If, however, I may suggest the only difficulty that occurs to me, it is
that academic thieves shew no great alacrity in falling out, but incline
rather to back each other up through thick and thin."

"Ah, yes," said Mr. Turvey, "there is that difficulty; nevertheless
circumstances from time to time arise to get them by the ears in spite of
themselves. But from whatever point of view you may look at the
question, it is obviously better to aim at imperfection than perfection;
for if we aim steadily at imperfection, we shall probably get it within a
reasonable time, whereas to the end of our days we should never reach
perfection. Moreover, from a worldly point of view, there is no mistake
so great as that of being always right." He then turned to his class and
said--

"And now tell me what did the Sunchild tell us about God and Mammon?"

The head-boy answered: "He said that we must serve both, for no man can
serve God well and truly who does not serve Mammon a little also; and no
man can serve Mammon effectually unless he serve God largely at the same
time."

"What were his words?"

"He said, 'Cursed be they that say, "Thou shalt not serve God and Mammon,
for it is the whole duty of man to know how to adjust the conflicting
claims of these two deities."'"

Here my father interposed. "I knew the Sunchild; and I more than once
heard him speak of God and Mammon. He never varied the fo