tire
absence of conviction; it appeared to be the work of men who had a rule-
of-thumb way of steering between iconoclasm on the one hand and credulity
on the other; who cut Gordian knots as a matter of course when it suited
their convenience; who shrank from no conclusion in theory, nor from any
want of logic in practice so long as they were illogical of malice
prepense, and for what they held to be sufficient reason. The
conclusions were conservative, quietistic, comforting. The arguments by
which they were reached were taken from the most advanced writers of the
day. All that these people contended for was granted them, but the
fruits of victory were for the most part handed over to those already in
possession.

Perhaps the passage which attracted most attention in the book was one
from the essay on the various marriage systems of the world. It ran:--

"If people require us to construct," exclaimed the writer, "we set good
breeding as the corner-stone of our edifice. We would have it ever
present consciously or unconsciously in the minds of all as the central
faith in which they should live and move and have their being, as the
touchstone of all things whereby they may be known as good or evil
according as they make for good breeding or against it."

"That a man should have been bred well and breed others well; that his
figure, head, hands, feet, voice, manner and clothes should carry
conviction upon this point, so that no one can look at him without seeing
that he has come of good stock and is likely to throw good stock himself,
this is the _desiderandum_. And the same with a woman. The greatest
number of these well-bred men and women, and the greatest happiness of
these well-bred men and women, this is the highest good; towards this all
government, all social conventions, all art, literature and science
should directly or indirectly tend. Holy men and holy women are those
who keep this unconsciously in view at all times whether of work or
pastime."

If Ernest had published this work in his own name I should think it would
have fallen stillborn from the press, but the form he had chosen was
calculated at that time to arouse curiosity, and as I have said he had
wickedly dropped a few hints which the reviewers did not think anyone
would have been impudent enough to do if he were not a bishop, or at any
rate some one in authority. A well-known judge was spoken of as being
another of the writers, and the id