ng their living so easily. I can tell you, Utopia has a
bad effect on character."

Caius let the matter go for that time; he had the prospect of seeing the
clergyman often.

Another week, when the clergyman had come to the island and Caius met
him by chance, they had the opportunity of walking up a long snowy hill
together, leading their horses. Caius asked him then about Madame Le
Maitre and O'Shea, and heard a plain consecutive tale of their lives and
of their coming to the island, which denuded the subject of all unknown
elements and appeared to rob it of special interest.

Captain Le Maitre, it appeared, had a life-long lease of the property on
Cloud Island, and also some property on the mainland south of Gaspe
Basin; but the land was worth little except by tillage, and, being a
seaman, he neglected it. His father had had the land before him.
Pembroke, the clergyman, had seen his father. He had never happened to
see the son, who would now be between forty and fifty years of age; but
when Madame Le Maitre had come to look after the farm on Cloud Island,
she had made herself known to him as in charge of her husband's affairs.
She found that she could not get the land worked by the islanders, and
had induced O'Shea, who it seemed was an old farm hand of her own
father's, to settle upon this farm, which was a richer one than the one
he had had upon the mainland. The soil of the islands, Pembroke said,
was in reality exceedingly rich, but in no case had it ever been
properly worked, and he was in hopes that now Madame Le Maitre might
produce a model farm, which would be of vast good in showing the
islanders how much they lost by their indifferent manner of treating
their land.

"Why did she come to the islands?"

"Conscientiousness, I think. The land here was neglected; the people
here certainly present a field white to harvest to anyone who has the
missionary spirit."

"Is she--is she very devout?" asked Caius.

"Well, yes, in her own way she is--mind, I say in her own way. I
couldn't tell you, now, whether she is Protestant or Papist; I don't
believe she knows herself."

"He that sitteth between two stools----" suggested Caius, chiefly for
want of something to say.

"Well, no, I wouldn't say that. Bless you! the truest hearts on God's
earth don't trouble about religious opinions; they have got the
essential oil expressed out of them, and that's all they want."

To Caius this subject of the lady's religion