she was forced to use the Gospel account of an incident "we were taught"
to believe no longer possible, as a means of communicating to Gwen what
she herself held to be no more than a feverish dream of her sister's
weakness. Gwen detected in her tone its protest against the confusion of
vulgar occurrences, in all their coarse authenticity, with the events of
Holy Writ, and forthwith launched out in an attempt to find the
underlying cause of it. "Did the old darling," said she, "tell you how
Rookaroo, or whatever his name was, passed his devil on to her husband
and son?"

"I think, my lady, she has that idea."

"It seems to me a very reasonable idea," said Gwen. "Once you have a
devil at all, why not? And it was to be like the madman in the tombs in
the land of the Gadarenes! Poor old darling Mrs. Picture!"

Old Phoebe felt very uncomfortable, for Gwen was not taking the devil
seriously. Although scarcely prepared to have Scripture used to
substantiate a vulgar Colonial sample, the old lady was even less ready
to have such a one doubted, if the doubt was to recoil on his prototype.
"Maisie is of the mind to fancy this evil spirit might even now be
driven from her son's heart, and bring him to repentance. But I told her
a many things might be, in the days of our blessed Lord, in the Holy
Land, that were forbidden now. It was just his own wickedness, I told
her, and no devil to be cast out. But she was so bent on the idea, that
I could not find it in me to say this man might not repent and turn to
Godliness yet, by your ladyship's influence, or Parson Dunage's." This
introduction of the incumbent of Chorlton was an afterthought. The fact
is, Granny Marrable was endeavouring to suggest a rationalistic
interpretation of her sister's undisguised mysticism; fever-bred, no
doubt, but scarcely to be condemned as delusion outright without
impugning devils, who are standard institutions. Good influences,
brought to bear on perverted human hearts, are quite correct and modern.

Granny Marrable's words left Gwen unsuspicious that powers of exorcism
had been imputed to her. The ascription of them might be--certainly
was--nothing but an outcome of the overstrain and tension of the last
few days, but the repetition of it in cold blood to its subject might
have been taken to mean that it was a symptom of insanity. Gwen did not
press her to tell more, as Dr. Nash made his appearance. The frequency
of his visits was a source of uneasin