n there, I knew that the figure must
have stood for a long time. Sculpture's weary, slow work.

Benlian was pottering about with a taper at the end of a long rod; and
suddenly the overhead gas-ring burst into light. I placed myself before
the statue--to criticise, you know.

Well, it didn't seem to me that he needed to have turned up his nose at
my ivories, for I didn't think much of his statue--except that it was a
great, lumping, extraordinary piece of work. It had an outstretched arm
that, I remember thinking, was absolutely misshapen--disproportioned,
big enough for a giant, ridiculously out of drawing. And as I looked at
the thing this way and that, I knew that his eyes in their deep cellars
never left my face for a moment.

"It's a god," he said by-and-by.

Then I began to tell him about that monstrous arm; but he cut me very
short.

"I say it's a god," he interrupted, looking at me as if he would have
eaten me. "Even you, child as you are, have seen the gods men have made
for themselves before this. Half-gods they've made, all good or all evil
(and then they've called them the Devil). This is _my_ god--the god of
good and of evil also."

"Er--I see," I said, rather taken aback (but quite sure he was off his
head for all that). Then I looked at the arm again; a child could have
seen how wrong it was....

But suddenly, to my amazement, he took me by the shoulders and turned me
away.

"That'll do," he said curtly. "I didn't ask you to come in here with a
view to learning anything from you. I wanted to see how it struck you. I
shall send for you again--and again--"

Then he began to jabber, half to himself.

"Bah!" he muttered. "'Is that all?' they ask before a stupendous thing.
Show them the ocean, the heavens, infinity, and they ask, 'Is that all?'
If they saw their God face to face they'd ask it!... There's only one
Cause, that works now in good and now in evil, but show It to them and
they put their heads on one side and begin to appraise and patronise
It!... I tell you, what's seen at a glance flies away at a glance. Gods
come slowly over you, but presently, ah! they begin to grip you, and at
the end there's no fleeing from them! You'll tell me more about my statue
by-and-by!... What was that you said?" he demanded, facing swiftly round
on me. "That arm? Ah, yes; but we'll see what you say about that arm six
months from now! Yes, the arm.... Now be off!" he ordered me. "I'll send
for you again when