vals of silence and blithe speech. His disordered mind,
it appeared, was still pursuing its unfortunate tangent.

"The first ideas are all funny, aren't they, Nance? Genesis in that
Christian mythology we were discussing isn't the only funny one. There was
the old northern couple who danced on the bones of the earth nine times
and made nine pairs of men and women; and there were the Greek and his
wife who threw stones out of their ark that changed to men; and the Hindu
that saved the life of a fish, and whom the fish then saved by fastening
his ship to his horn; and the South Sea fisherman who caught his hook in
the water-god's hair and made him so angry that he drowned all the world
except the offending fisherman. Aren't they nearly as funny as the god who
made one of his pair out of clay and one from a rib, and then became so
angry with them that he must beget a son for them to sacrifice before he
would forgive them? Let's think of the pleasanter ones. Do you know that
hymn of the Veda?--'If I go along trembling like a cloud, have mercy,
Almighty, have mercy!'

"'Through want of strength, thou strong and bright God, have I gone
wrong. Have mercy, Almighty, have mercy!'

"And Buddha was a pleasant soul, Nance--with stuff in him, too--born a
prince, yet leaving his palace to be poor and to study the ways of wisdom,
until enlightenment came to him sitting under his Bo tree. He said faith
was the best wealth here. And, 'Not to commit any sin, to do good and to
purify one's mind, that is the teaching of the awakened'; 'not hating
those who hate us,' 'free from greed among the greedy.' They must have
been glad of Buddhism in their day, teaching them to honour their parents,
to be kind to the sick and poor and sorrowing, to forgive their enemies
and return good for evil. And there was funny old Confucius with his
'Coarse rice for food, water to drink, the bended arm for a
pillow--happiness may be enjoyed even with these; but without virtue, both
riches and honour seem to me like the passing cloud.' Another one of his
is 'In the book of Poetry are three hundred pieces--but the designs of
them all mean, "Have no depraved thoughts."' Rather good for a Chinaman,
wasn't it?

"And there was old Zoroaster saying to his Ormuzd, 'I believe thee, O God!
to be the best thing of all!' and asking for guidance. Ormuzd tells him to
be pure in thought, word and deed; to be temperate, chaste and
truthful--and this Ormuzd would have no lam