greater honor of God, of Christian love, and
of eternal truth."

"You wrong him; to be sure he brought me your essay, but it was in
consequence of a conversation in which I was compelled to admit that I
was wholly in the dark about your opinions, and had not become much
wiser from Leah's very guarded remarks. Do not suppose I'm blind to the
faults and weaknesses of this singular man. I do not share his
exaggerated mystical views. But even his errors, which arise from an
ardent heart, seem more honorable, or to express myself more plainly,
are more in sympathy with my nature, than--"

"Than a man's honest confession that he knows nothing at all about
certain things."

"If it were only that! But must he, who knows nothing, or desires to
know nothing about that which is revealed to all who thirst for
information, makes a business of shaking the faith, rendering the
ground unsteady beneath the feet of those who do have the knowledge, or
think they have?"

"If he really believes he is serving humanity, why should he not do
what he thinks productive of good? To be sure, I should not undertake
this business. I've not the temperament for it, the friendly
importunity, nor any of the other qualities that are necessary to make
proselytes."

"You have not? And this treatise--"

"Is not written for those who know or think they know, but for persons,
who like me, are still seeking truth, perhaps doubting whether it will
ever be possible certainly to know, and meantime think themselves
justified in using the boundaries between knowledge and faith for a
work which must tend to the advantages of both provinces."

"No," she said, as she suddenly rose, "we shall make no progress in
that way. You're my superior in dialectics, and I see it's only
chivalrous in you to avoid the contest. But answer one question
plainly: is it really true that you not only have no God, but do not
even feel any sorrow for it, any sense of something wanting, of
cheerless desolation and loneliness, when you survey a world, from
which to you the breath of a personal Creator has vanished?"

"And suppose I really did feel neither sorrow nor want, and yet did not
find the world utterly cheerless?"

She gazed at him with a steady look, as if she were obliged to weigh
such an answer before she could fully understand it. Her eyes grew dim,
she retreated a step and sank down on the chair which stood beside the
sofa.

"You poor, poor mortal!"

"We agreed n