hurch,
but it is the same thing."

"'Experience a change of heart,' Ward says in his letter; 'be convicted
of the sin of unbelief'!" the rector said contemptuously, and ignoring
his sister's question; "but conversion with him merely means a belief in
hell, so far as I can make out."

"Well, of course Helen is all wrong not to believe in hell," said Mrs.
Dale promptly; "the Prayer-Book teaches it, and she must. I'll tell her
so. All you have to do is to see this Mr. Ward and tell him she will; and
just explain to him that she has been confirmed,--we don't use those
Methodistical expressions in the Church. Perhaps the sect he belongs to
does, but one always thinks of them as rather belonging to the lower
classes, you know. I suppose we ought not to expect anything else from
such a person,--who ever heard of his people? I always said the marriage
would turn out badly," she added triumphantly. "You remember, I told you
so?"

The rector sighed. After all, Mrs. Dale did not help him. It was useless
to try to impress her with the theological side of the matter, as she
only returned with fresh vigor to the charge that it was a disgrace to
the family. So he rose to go, saying, "Well, I'll wait for Ward's letter,
and if he persists in this insanity I'll start for Lockhaven. You might
see Helen, and see what you can do."

As Mrs. Dale began in her positive way to say how he ought to talk to
"this man," Mr. Dale came in.

"I thought I heard your voice," he said to his brother-in-law, "and I
came up"--he looked deprecatingly at his wife--"to ask you to step down
and have a pipe. I want to speak to you about Denner's books."

But before Dr. Howe could answer, Mrs. Dale poured forth all the
troublesome and disgraceful story of the "separated husband and wife."
Mr. Dale listened intently; once he flourished his red handkerchief
across his eyes as he blew his nose. When he did this, he scattered some
loose tobacco about, and Mrs. Dale stopped to reprimand him. "I tell
you," she ended emphatically, "it is this new-fangled talk of woman's
rights that has done all this. What need has Helen of opinions of her
own? A woman ought to be guided by her husband in everything!"

"You see it is pretty bad, Henry," said the rector.

"It is,--it is," said the older man, his mild eyes glistening; "but oh,
Archibald, how he loves her!"

"Loves her?" cried the other two together.

"Yes," continued Mr. Dale slowly; "one feels as if we ought n