of our species. Many a poor fellow in that war and in many
another has gone into battle simply and purely for his country's sake,
not knowing whether, if he laid down his life, he should ever find it
again, or whether, if he took it up hereafter, he should take it up in
heaven or hell. Come, parson!" he said, turning to the minister, "what
has ever been conceived of omnipotence, of omniscience, so sublime, so
divine as that?"

"Nothing," answered the minister quietly. "God has never been imagined
at all. But if you suppose such a man as that was Authorised, I think
it will help you to imagine what God must be."

"There's sense in that," said Lapham. He took his cigar out of his
mouth, and pulled his chair a little toward the table, on which he
placed his ponderous fore-arms. "I want to tell you about a fellow I
had in my own company when we first went out. We were all privates to
begin with; after a while they elected me captain--I'd had the tavern
stand, and most of 'em knew me. But Jim Millon never got to be
anything more than corporal; corporal when he was killed." The others
arrested themselves in various attitudes of attention, and remained
listening to Lapham with an interest that profoundly flattered him.
Now, at last, he felt that he was holding up his end of the rope. "I
can't say he went into the thing from the highest motives, altogether;
our motives are always pretty badly mixed, and when there's such a
hurrah-boys as there was then, you can't tell which is which. I
suppose Jim Millon's wife was enough to account for his going, herself.
She was a pretty bad assortment," said Lapham, lowering his voice and
glancing round at the door to make sure that it was shut, "and she used
to lead Jim ONE kind of life. Well, sir," continued Lapham,
synthetising his auditors in that form of address, "that fellow used to
save every cent of his pay and send it to that woman. Used to get me
to do it for him. I tried to stop him. 'Why, Jim,' said I, 'you know
what she'll do with it.' 'That's so, Cap,' says he, 'but I don't know
what she'll do without it.' And it did keep her straight--straight as a
string--as long as Jim lasted. Seemed as if there was something
mysterious about it. They had a little girl,--about as old as my
oldest girl,--and Jim used to talk to me about her. Guess he done it
as much for her as for the mother; and he said to me before the last
action we went into, 'I should like to turn tail