y you mercy. The King of kings, like other princes, dealeth with
His rebels on his own terms."

Blanche was silent, and, very uncomfortable.

"'Tis time for me to be about my duties. When you shall have fully
settled that point of your willingness, Mistress Blanche, and shall have
determined that you are thus willing--which God grant!--then, an' it
like you, we will go into the other matter."

And Mr Tremayne left the room with a bow, very well knowing that as
soon as the first point was satisfactorily settled, the second would be
left quiescent.

Mrs Tremayne had never opened her lips; and leaving her in the study,
Blanche wandered into the parlour, where Clare and Lysken were seated at
work.

"I marvel what Master Tremayne would have!" said Blanche, sitting down
in the window, and idly pulling the dead leaves from the plant which
stood there. "He saith 'tis our own fault that we will not to be saved,
and yet in the self breath he addeth that the will so to be must needs
be given us of God."

Lysken looked up.

"Methinks we are all willing enow to be saved from punishment," she
said. "What we be unwilling to be saved from is sin."

"`Sin'--alway sin!" muttered Blanche. "Ye be both of a story. Sin is
wickedness. I am not wicked."

"Sin is the disobeying of God," replied Lysken. "And saving thy
presence, Blanche, thou art wicked."

"Then so art thou!" retorted Blanche.

"So I am," said Lysken. "But I am willing to be saved therefrom."

"Prithee, Mistress Elizabeth Barnevelt, from what sin am I not willing
to be saved?"

"Dost truly wish to know?" asked Lysken in her coolest manner.

"Certes!"

"Then--pride."

"Pride is no sin!"

"I love not gainsaying, Blanche. But I dare in no wise gainsay the
Lord. And He saith of pride, that it is an abomination unto Him, and He
hateth it." [Proverbs six, verse 16; and sixteen verse 5.]

"But that is ill and sinful pride," urged Blanche. "There is proper
pride."

"It seemeth to my poor wits," said Lysken, "that a thing which the Lord
hateth must be all of it improper."

"Why, Lysken! Thus saying, thou shouldst condemn all high spirit and
noble bearing!"

"`Blessed are the poor in spirit.' There was no pride in Christ,
Blanche. And thou wilt scarce say that He bare Him not nobly."

"Why, then, we might as well all be peasants!"

"I suppose we might, if we were," said Lysken.

"Lysken, it should be a right strange world, where thou hadst