ch so many were proud
to belong, was to secure to all the utmost amount of innocent
enjoyment, and the most entire peace of mind; that no pressure was put
upon any one who decided to stay there, and to observe the quiet customs
of the place; but that it was always considered a heinous and
ill-disposed thing to attempt to unsettle any one's convictions, or to
attempt, by using undue influence, to bring about the migration of any
citizen to conditions of which little was known, but which there was
reason to believe were distinctly undesirable.

"We are, above all," he said, "a religious community; our rites and our
ceremonies are privileges open to all; we compel no one to attend them;
all that we insist is that no one, by restless innovation or cynical
contempt, should attempt to disturb the emotions of serene
contemplation, distinguished courtesy, and artistic feeling, for which
our society has been so long and justly celebrated."

This was received with loud applause, indulgently checked by the
President. Some witnesses were then called, who testified to the
indifference and restlessness which I had on many occasions manifested.
It was brought up against me that I had provoked a much-respected member
of the community, Charmides, to utter some very treasonous and
unpleasant language, and that it was believed that the rash and unhappy
step, which he had lately taken, of leaving the place, had been entirely
or mainly the result of my discontented and ill-advised suggestion.

Then Lucius himself, wearing an air of extreme gravity and even
despondency, was called, and a murmur of sympathy ran through the
audience. Lucius, apparently struggling with deep emotion, said that he
bore me no actual ill-will; that on my first arrival he had done his
best to welcome me and make me feel at home; that it was probably known
to all that I had been accompanied by an accomplished and justly popular
lady, whom I had openly treated with scanty civility and undisguised
contempt. That he had himself, under the laws of the place, contracted
a close alliance with my unhappy protegee, and that their union had been
duly accredited; but that I had lost no opportunity of attempting to
undermine his happiness, and to maintain an unwholesome influence over
her. That I had at last left the place myself, with a most uncivil
abruptness; during the interval of absence my occupations were believed
to have been of the most dubious character: it was more