following Sunday evening London had another theological
sensation. The National Secular Society had advertised far and wide that
the preacher of the famous sermon at St. Chrysostom had consented to
deliver an address at the Hall of Science, and that the chair was to be
taken by the President of the Society, who was one of the most eloquent
and uncompromising exponents of free-thought and rationalism in the
world.

Not only in the Anglican churches but also among Catholics and
Nonconformists a perfect tempest of indignation had burst forth during
the past few days. A hurriedly summoned but crowded meeting was held at
Exeter Hall on the same night that Vane had welcomed Carol and her lover
into the family circle. It was mainly expressive of evangelical opinion,
and was addressed with indignant eloquence by several of the principal
Low Church and Nonconformist divines in London. Their principal theme
was ritualism and atheism, with special reference to the connection that
appeared to exist between them in the person of the Rev. Vane Maxwell.

To begin with, he had joined a confraternity of Anglican priests whose
practises were notoriously and admittedly illegal, and he had taken
advantage of his position in the pulpit to preach a sermon which had
sent a thrill of indignation through the hearts of all the most generous
supporters of Church and mission work throughout the United Kingdom and
abroad.

He had taken upon himself to put a brutally literal construction on the
words of Christ which it would be absolutely impossible to carry out in
practice unless the whole of Christendom were pauperised--and what,
then, would become of the work of the churches, and, particularly, of
those vast missionary movements which had spread the light of
Christianity in so many dark places of the earth? How would they
continue to exist without the vast sums which Christians of wealth so
generously contributed? What was to happen, even to the churches of all
denominations in England itself, if they accepted the preposterous
doctrine that a man could not enjoy the fruit of his own labour, or
inherit that of his ancestors, and at the same time remain a Christian?
It was totally out of the question, far beyond the bounds of all
practical common sense, and therefore it could not be Christian, since,
if such a doctrine were true, Christianity would be impossible.

And now, not content with preaching from a Christian pulpit a heresy
which, if ac