with a curious inoffensive kind of boldness, took from them their
dryness and gave them a certain sweet acceptableness that most persons
knew who knew Mr. Masters. Diana never dreamed that he was intrusive,
even though she recognised the fact that he was about his work.
Nevertheless she waived the question.

"Can anybody say that he is well _so?_" she asked.

"I hope he can. Do you know the old lady who is called Mother Bartlett?"

"O yes."

"Do you think she would hesitate about answering that question? or be
mistaken in the answer?"

"But what do you mean by it exactly?" said Diana.

"Don't you know?"

"I suppose I do. I know what it means to be well in body. I have been
well all my life."

"How would you characterize that happy condition?"

"Why," said Diana, unused to definitions of abstractions, but following
Mr. Masters' lead as people always did, gentle or simple,--"I mean, or
it means, sound, and comfortable, and fit for what one has to do."

"Excellent," said the minister. "I see you understand the subject.
Cannot those things be true of soul and mind, as well as of body?"

"What is the difference between soul and mind?" said Diana.

"A clear departure!" said the minister, laughing; then gravely, "Do you
read philosophy?"

"I don't know"--said Diana. "I read, or I used to read, a good many
sorts of books. I haven't read much lately."

The minister gave her another keen look while she was attending to
something else, and when he spoke again it was with a change of tone.

"I had a promise once that I should see those books."

"Any time," said Diana eagerly; "any time!" For it would be an easy way
of entertaining him, or of getting rid of him. Either would do.

"I think I proposed a plan of exchange, which might be to the advantage
of us both."

"To mine, I am sure," said Diana. "I don't know whether there can be
anything you would care for among the books up-stairs; but if there
should be-- Would you like to go up and look at them?"

"I should,--if it would not give you too much trouble."

It would be no trouble just to run up-stairs and show him where they
were; and this Diana did, leaving him to overhaul the stock at his
leisure. She came down and went on with her work.

Diana's heart was too sound and her head too clear to allow her to be
more than to a certain degree distressed at not hearing from Evan. She
did not doubt him more than she doubted herself; and not doubting him,
things