esty is generally practised by those whom, to put it
plainly, it would not pay to steal.

"A French philosopher once said that there is that within the heart of
every man which, if known, would make his dearest friend hate him. That,
I am afraid, is true, not only of men but of women. It is not the fault
of the men or the women; it is due simply to artificial conditions of
life and to the individual ignorance and stupidity which make reform
impossible. Until what we call civilised and Christian Society can make
up its mind to conduct its personal, its national, and its international
affairs on the broad and simple lines laid down in the Sermon on the
Mount, no man can afford to be quite honest. In other words, if
Christendom would be really Christian, it would also be honest; honest
with itself and with its God, with the God whom it now only pretends to
worship, saying loudly, 'Lord, Lord,' and doing not the things which He
saith!

"It would not matter--and this I say with all reverence and with a full
sense of my responsibilities as a Priest of the Church--it would not
matter whether Society called itself Christian or not, as long as it was
honest."

"That is absolute atheism and blasphemy!" exclaimed a well-known
Nonconformist preacher, springing up and holding his hands out towards
the platform. "The man who could speak those words cannot be either a
Christian or a minister of the Gospel. I call upon the speaker to be
honest now, honest with himself and us, and confess that he is not a
Christian, and therefore unworthy to be a preacher of any Christian
creed."

A storm of mingled expressions of approval and assent burst out from
every part of the crowded hall. Vane stood immovable and listened to it
with a smile hovering round his lips. The President rose at once and
said:

"I must remind the reverend gentleman who has made this interruption--an
interruption which, if made in a church or a chapel, would render him
liable to imprisonment--is entirely out of order. We welcome discussion,
but it must come in its proper place. We cannot tolerate interruption,
and we won't."

The rebuke was too just and too pointed not to be felt, even by the
bigot who had deserved it. He sat down, and when the thunder of applause
which greeted the President's brief but pregnant interlude had died
away, Vane went on without a trace of emotion in his voice:

"I cannot say that I am sorry that that interruption was made, because
i