ng been reading your own, on which I very earnestly
congratulate you. God knows it is not because they are friendly or
complimentary, but because you _do_ see what I mean; and people hardly
ever do; and I think it needs very considerable power and feeling to
forgive and understand as you do. You have said everything I want to
say, and much more, except on the one point of excommunication, which
will be the chief, almost the only, subject of my final note."

"_16th May._--Yes, the omission of the 'Mr.' meant much change in all my
feelings towards you and estimates of you; for which change, believe me,
I am more glad and thankful than I can well tell you.

"J. RUSKIN."]

[Footnote 170: Only a heretic!--F. A. M.]

[Footnote 171: I may perhaps be pardoned for vindicating-at least my
arithmetic, which, with Bishop Colenso, I rather pride myself upon. One
of your correspondents greatly doubts my having heard five thousand
asserters of evangelical principles (Catholic-absolvent or
Protestant-detergent are virtually the same). I am now sixty years old,
and for forty-five of them was in church at least once on the
Sunday,--say once a month also in afternoons,--and you have above three
thousand church services. When I am abroad I am often in half-a-dozen
churches in the course of a single day, and never lose a chance of
listening to anything that is going on. Add the conversations pursued,
not unearnestly, with every sort of reverend person I can get to talk to
me--from the Bishop of Strasburg (as good a specimen of a town bishop as
I have known), with whom I was studying ecstatic paintings in the year
1850--down to the simplest traveling tinker inclined Gospelwards, whom I
perceive to be sincere, and your correspondent will perceive that my
rapid numerical expression must be far beneath the truth. He subjoins
his more rational doubt of my acquaintance with many town missionaries;
to which I can only answer, that as I do not live in town, nor set up
for a missionary myself, my spiritual advantages have certainly not been
great in that direction. I simply assert that of the few I have
known,--beginning with Mr. Spurgeon, under whom I sat with much
edification for a year or two,--I have not known any such teaching as I
speak of.]

[Footnote 172: The only explanation ever offered for this exuberant
wordiness is that if worshipers did not understand one term they would
the other, and in some cases, in the Exhortation and elsewhe