d that ambitions only get in our way and
trip us up. We clergymen are like street-car horses. The more steadily
we jog along between the rails, the better it is for us."

"Oh, I don't intend to remain in the ministry," declared Theron. The
statement seemed to him a little bald, now that he had made it; and as
his companion lifted his brows in surprise, he added stumblingly: "That
is, as I feel now, it seems to me impossible that I should remain much
longer. With you, of course, it is different. You have a thousand things
to interest and pleasantly occupy you in your work and its ceremonies,
so that mere belief or non-belief in the dogma hardly matters. But in
our church dogma is everything. If you take that away, or cease to have
its support, the rest is intolerable, hideous."

Father Forbes cut another slice of mutton for himself. "It is a pretty
serious business to make such a change at your time of life. I take it
for granted you will think it all over very carefully before you commit
yourself." He said this with an almost indifferent air, which rather
chilled his listener's enthusiasm.

"Oh, yes,", Theron made answer; "I shall do nothing rash. But I have a
good many plans for the future."

Father Forbes did not ask what these were, and a brief further period of
silence fell upon the table.

"I hope everything went off smoothly at the picnic," Theron ventured, at
last. "I have not seen any of you since then."

The priest shook his head and sighed. "No," he said. "It is a bad
business. I have had a great deal of unhappiness out of it this past
fortnight. That young man who was rude to you--of course it was mere
drunken, irresponsible nonsense on his part--has got himself into a
serious scrape, I'm afraid. It is being kept quite within the family,
and we hope to manage so that it will remain there, but it has terribly
upset his father and his sister. But that, after all, is not so hard
to bear as the other affliction that has come upon the Maddens. You
remember Michael, the other brother? He seems to have taken cold that
evening, or perhaps over-exerted himself. He has been seized with quick
consumption. He will hardly last till snow flies."

"Oh, I am GRIEVED to hear that!" Theron spoke with tremulous
earnestness. It seemed to him as if Michael were in some way related to
him.

"It is very hard upon them all," the priest went on. "Michael is as
sweet and holy a character as it is possible for any one to think