f-fact, he was truly suffering storms of emotion. He fell a
prey to old illusions; that unreasoning fear returned; he was thrown
back into the state of terrified egoism which rendered lofty
impersonal meditation beyond attainment.

That evening when for the first time he went to the Baptist Chapel,
the illusion was strong upon him that every man, woman, and child in
the congregation had discovered his secret. When they all stood up to
sing, it seemed that he was naked, defenseless, utterly at their
mercy. With every word of their carefully selected hymn they were
telling him that they knew all about him. When they began their third
verse, they simply roared a denunciation straight at him:

"But thus th' eternal counsel ran:
'Almighty love, _arrest that man_.'"

And the second and third hymns were just as bad, shaking him to
pieces, tumbling him headlong into the terror he had felt when his
crime was no more than a week old. The rest of the service entranced
and delighted him, made him think: "These people are in touch with
God, and their God is full of love and mercy. If He would accept me, I
should feel safe." At the end of the service he knelt, praying for
this to happen. Then he went home and doubted.

The fear was on him again in the beginning of his interview with Mr.
Osborn the pastor. He thought: "This man has seen through me. He
knows. Perhaps his past experiences have taught him to be quick in
spotting criminals. He may have been a prison chaplain some time or
other. Anyhow, he knows; and he'll try to get a confession out of me,
as sure as I sit here." But the beauty of the conception of God as
unfolded by Mr. Osborn banished the fear. He thought: "If I had been
told these things before, I should have never ceased to believe. I
feel it through and through me. This is God; and if I am not too
late, if He will still accept me, I shall be saved. Christ, the
friend, the brother of man--same as described by Mr. Osborn two
minutes ago--can do it for me if He will. He can take me home to
Father." A verse of one of those hymns echoed in his ears:

"None less than God's Almighty Son
Can move such loads of sin;
The water from His side must run,
To wash this dungeon clean."

And once more he prayed to the God of the Baptists; and then once more
doubted.

While he was walking home, he thought: "It is too good to be true.
Perhaps I'm fullish to pin my trust to it. Do I belie