erience, and that method of proof cannot be begun too
soon."

"Very true," said my father.

"I don't know why a man's religious belief (which is of course the
ground of his religious life) should be supposed to come to him
without the trouble of learning, any more than any other body of
truths and principles on which people act," Mr. Andrewes went on. "And
yet what religious instruction do young people of the educated classes
receive as a rule?--especially the boys, for girls get hold of books,
and pick up a faith somehow, though often only enough to make them
miserable and 'unsettled,' and no more. I often wonder," he added,
sitting down at the table with a laugh, "whether the mass of educated
men know less of what concerns the welfare of their souls, and all
therewith connected, or the mass of educated women of what concerns
their bodies, and all _therewith_ connected. I feel sure that both
ignorances produce untold and dire evil!"

"So theology and natural science are to be Regie's first lessons?"
said my father, drawing me to him.

"I've been talking on stilts, I know," said Mr. Andrewes, smiling.
"We'll use simpler terms,--duty to GOD, and duty to Man. One can't do
either without learning how, Mr. Dacre."

I repeat this conversation as I have heard it from my father, since I
grew up and could understand it. Mr. Andrewes' educational theories
were duly put in practice for my benefit. In his efforts for my
religious education, Nurse Bundle proved an unexpected ally. When I
repeated to her some solemn truth which in his reverent and simple
manner he had explained to me; some tale he had told me of some good
man, whose example was to be followed; some bit of quaint practical
advice he had given me, or perhaps some hymn I had learned by his
side, the delight of the good old soul knew no bounds. She said it was
as good as a sermon; and as she was particularly fond of sermons, this
was a compliment. She used to beg me carefully to remember anything of
the kind that I heard, and when I repeated it, she had generally her
own word of advice to add, and wonderful tales with which to point the
moral,--tales of happy and unhappy deathbeds, of warnings, judgments,
and answers to prayer. Tales, too, of the charities of the poor, the
happiness of the afflicted, and the triumphs of the deeply tempted,
such as it is good for the wealthy, and healthy, and well-cared-for,
to listen to. Nurse Bundle's religious faith had a tinge