ion. A faith is only justified if it carries conviction.
What's the use of a creed or a dogma which is as transient as a
philosophy? Being condemned by my profession to study beings whose
moral balance is unstable, I am in a position to assert that the
Roman Church has a complete understanding of human nature. As a
psychologist and a doctor, I admire the uncompromising attitude of
the Councils. So much weakness and stupidity requires the firm
support of an authority without the slightest tolerance. The curative
value of a doctrine lies not in its logical truth, but in its
permanency."

"It is quite true," said Colonel Parker, "that nothing short of the
rigid dictates of Catholicism could have prevented the Irish from
going completely mad. But don't judge every one from your own case,
O'Grady; the Saxons possess a solid, Protestant intelligence."

"Well," the doctor continued, "our other two padres spent their
evenings trying to swallow each other up. One of them was Church of
England and the other Presbyterian; and they employed the most modern
commercial methods in their competition. Church of England found an
old gipsy cart which he set up at Dickebusch and from which he sold
chocolate to the Jocks; whereupon Church of Scotland installed a
telescope at Kruystraete to show them the stars. If the one formed a
cigar-trust, the other made a corner in cigarettes. If one of them
introduced a magic lantern, the other chartered a cinema. But the
permanent threat to the peace of the mess was undoubtedly the Baptist
question.

"As we had no Baptist padre, the unfortunate soldiers of that
persuasion (of whom there were seven in the Division) could attend no
service. The astonishing thing was that they never seemed to realize
the extent of their misfortune.

"On one point at any rate our two padres agreed: men could not be
left, in the dangerous zone in which we were then living, without the
consolations of religion. But both Church of England and Church of
Scotland each claimed the right to annex this tiny neutral
congregation.

"'Excuse me,' said Church of Scotland; 'the Baptist, it is true, only
performs the immersion ceremony when the adult's faith is confirmed,
but on all other points he resembles the Presbyterian. His Church is
a democratic one and is opposed to episcopacy, like ours.'

"'Pardon me,' said Church of England; 'the Baptist, in demanding a
return to the primitive form of the Sacrament, proves himself to