as that which came to a man while engaged in
promoting the general good. That the whole duty of man was to devote
himself to the service of others. And he lived his creed.

Like other people, he had his faults, but he was always ready to spend
and he spent for what he considered the good of others, while every
act of injustice called forth his unsparing rebuke, and every oppressed
person or cause was sure to meet with his support at whatever cost to
himself. His zeal for what he regarded as the "gospel" of atheism grew
and strengthened year by year. He was the untiring advocate of what he
considered the truth. Neither illness nor small results, nor loss, could
quench his ardor, while opposition invariably stimulated him to
fresh efforts. After long years of toil, he had at length attained
an influential position in the country, and though crippled by debts
incurred in the struggle for freedom of speech, and living in absolute
penury, he was one of the most powerful men of the day.

The old bookseller had very truly observed that there was more good in
him than people thought, he was in fact a noble character twisted the
wrong way by clumsy and mistaken handling.

Brian Osmond was by no means bigoted; he had moreover, known those who
were intimate with Raeburn, and consequently had heard enough of the
truth about him to disbelieve the gross libels which were constantly
being circulated by the unscrupulous among his opponents. Still, as
on that November afternoon he watched Raeburn and his daughter down
Southampton Row, he was conscious that for the first time he fully
regarded the atheist as a fellow-man. The fact was that Raeburn had for
long years been the champion of a hated cause; he had braved the full
flood of opposition; and like an isolated rock had been the mark for so
much of the rage and fury of the elements that people who knew him only
by name had really learned to regard him more as a target than as a man.
It was he who could hit hardest, who could most effectually baffle and
ruin him; while the quieter spirits contented themselves with rarely
mentioning his obnoxious name, and endeavoring as far as possible, to
ignore his existence. Brian felt that till now he had followed with the
multitude to do evil. He had, as far as possible, ignored his existence;
had even been rather annoyed when his father had once publicly urged
that Raeburn should be treated with as much justice and courtesy and
consideration a