, he was one of
the very numerous thinking men who have never needed to cast aside a
faith of childhood; from the dawn of rationality, they simply stand
apart from all religious dogmas, unable to understand the desire of
such helps to conduct, untouched by spiritual trouble--as that phrase
is commonly interpreted. And it seemed that Jane closely resembled him
in this matter. Sensitive to every prompting of humanity, instinct with
moral earnestness, she betrayed no slightest tendency to the religion
of church, chapel, or street-corner. A promenade of the Salvation Army
half-puzzled, half-amused her; she spoke of it altogether without
intolerance, as did her grandfather, but never dreamt that it was a
phenomenon which could gravely concern her. Prayers she had never said;
enough that her last thought before sleeping was one of kindness to
those beings amid whom she lived her life, that on awaking her mind
turned most naturally to projects of duty and helpfulness.

Excepting the Bible, Snowdon seldom made use of books either for
inquiry or amusement. Very imperfectly educated in his youth, he had
never found leisure for enriching his mind in the ordinary way until it
was too late; as an old man he had so much occupation in his thoughts
that the printed page made little appeal to him. Till quite recently he
had been in the habit of walking for several hours daily, always
choosing poor districts; now that his bodily powers were sensibly
failing him, he passed more and more of his time in profound brooding,
so forgetful of external things that Jane, on her return from work, had
more than once been troubled by noticing that he had taken no midday
meal. It was in unconsciousness such as this that he sat when his son
Joseph, receiving no reply to his knock, opened the door and entered;
but that his eyes were open, the posture of his body and the forward
drooping of his head would have made it appear that he slept. Joseph
stepped towards him, and at length the old man looked up. He gazed at
his visitor first unintelligently, then with wonder and growing emotion.

'Jo?--Jo, at last? You were in my mind only a few minutes ago, but I
saw you as a boy.'

He rose from the chair and held out both his hands, trembling more than
they were wont to do.

'I almost wonder you knew me,' said Joseph. 'It's seventeen years since
we saw each other. It was all Jane could do to remember me.'

'Jane? Where have you seen her? At the house in th