onsoling myself
with the thought that the qualities of human beings are not meant to be
taken up one by one, like coins from a tray, and scrutinised; but that
what matters is the general effect, the blending, the grouping, the
mellowed surface, the warped line. I was only yesterday in an
old church, where I saw an ancient font-cover--a sort of carved
extinguisher--and some dark panels of a rood-screen. They had been, both
cover and panels, coarsely and brightly painted and gilt; and, horrible
to reflect, it flashed upon me that they must have once been both
glaring and vulgar. Yet to-day the dim richness of the effect, the
dints, the scaling-off of the flakes, the fading of the pigment, the
dulling of the gold, were incomparable; and I began to wonder if perhaps
that was not what happened to us in life; and that though we foolishly
regretted the tarnishing of the bright surfaces of soul and body with
our passions and tempers and awkwardnesses and feeblenesses, yet perhaps
it was, after all, that we were taking on an unsuspected beauty, and
making ourselves fit, some far-off day, for the Communion of Saints!

IX. EQUALITY

It is often said that the Anglo-Saxon races suffer from a lack of
ideals, that they do not hold enough things sacred. But there is
assuredly one thing which the most elementary and barbarous Anglo-Saxon
holds sacred, beyond creed and Decalogue and fairplay and morality, and
that is property. At inquests, for instance, it may be noted how often
inquiries are solicitously made, not whether the deceased had religious
difficulties or was disappointed in love, but whether he had any
financial worries. We hold our own property to be very sacred indeed,
and our respect for other men's rights in the matter is based on the
fact that we wish our own rights to be respected. If I were asked what
other ideals were held widely sacred in England and America I should
find it very difficult to reply. I think that there is a good deal of
interest taken in America in education and culture; whereas in England I
do not believe that there is very much interest taken in either; almost
the only thing which is valued in England, romantically, and with a kind
of enthusiasm, besides property, is social distinction; the democracy
in England is sometimes said to be indignant at the existence of so
much social privilege; the word "class" is said to be abhorrent to the
democrat; but the only classes that he detests are the