ith water. What did you expect?"

"But--all at once, without any preparation?"

"What preparation was needed? I made my confession of Christ, and he
baptised me in His name. The preparation was only to draw the water."

"What on earth did you do for sponsors?"

"Had none."

"Did he let you?"

A little smothered laugh came from Countess. "He had not much choice,"
she said. "He did try it on. But I told him plainly, I was not going
to give in to that nonsense: that if he chose to baptise me at once, I
was there ready, and would answer any questions and make any confession
that he chose. But if not--not. I was not coming again."

"And he accepted it!" said David, with a dozen notes of exclamation in
his voice.

"Did I not tell you he was the most sensible Christian I ever found? He
said, `Well!--after all, truly, any thing save the simple baptism with
water was a man-made ordinance. The Ethiopian eunuch had no sponsors'--
I don't know who he was, but I suppose the hermit did--`and he probably
made as true a Christian for all that' `In truth,' said I, `the
institution of sponsors seems good for little children--friends who
promise to see that they shall be brought up good Christians if their
parents die early; but for a woman of my age, it is simply absurd, and I
won't have it. Let me confess Christ as my Messiah and Lord, and
baptise me with water in His name, and I am sure he will be satisfied
with it. And if any of the saints and angels are not satisfied, they
can come down and say so, if they think it worth while.' So--as he saw,
I suppose, that _I_ was not going to do it--he gave in."

"I hope it's all right," said David, rather uneasily.

"David, I wish I could put a little sense into you. You are a good man,
but you are a very foolish one. `All right!' Of course it is all
right. It is man, and not God, who starts at trifles like a frightened
horse, and makes men offenders for a word. The Lord looketh on the
heart."

"Ay, but Moses (on whom be peace!) was particular enough about some
details which look very trifling to us."

"He was particular enough where they concerned the honour of God, or
where they formed a part of some symbolism which the alteration would
cause to be wrongly interpreted so as to teach untruth. But for all
else, he let them go, and so did our Lord. When Aaron explained why he
had not eaten the goat of the sin-offering, Moses was content. Nor did
Christ condemn