uine about man and his soul. I know that it doesn't
matter much to God what a man thinks about himself or his soul. It
really doesn't matter much whether he believes or not that he has a
soul: God is the Principle of Right--the Fountain of Justice, and I'm
willing to trust myself to God."

"That is true religion, Mr. Linton," said the clergyman.

"But I agree with those people who think that the world cannot get on
without a Church. Now, I am sanguine enough to believe that a Church
founded on your ideas of what is orthodox would be the means of doing
a great deal of good. It would do a great deal of good to my wife, to
start with. She does not know that she is so soon to be a widow. Were
she to know, the last months of my life would be miserable to both of
us. I have noticed with some pain, or should I say amusement? perhaps
that word would be the better--I have noticed, I say, that her life
is one of complete aimlessness, and that, therefore, she is tempted
to think too much about herself. She is also tempted to have longings
for--well, for temptation. Ah, she is a woman and temptation is in the
way of women. _Qui parle d'amour, fait l'amour_: temptation comes to the
woman who thinks about being tempted. Now, I want to give her something
to think about that shall lead her out of the thoughts of temptation
which I suppose come naturally to a daughter of Eve--the first woman
who thought about temptation and was therefore tempted. My wife is a
perfectly good woman, and you will be surprised to find out when I am
dead how fond of me she was--she will be the most surprised of all. But
she is a woman. If she were not so much of a woman I don't suppose I
should ever have cared so much for her as I do. I cared so much for her,
Mr. Holland, that I remained away from her in Paris for three months so
that I might school myself to my fate, making no sign that would lead
her to suspect the truth. Why should she have six months' additional
misery? I have strayed. The Church. I want to give my wife an aim in
life; to make her feel that she is doing something worthy--to keep her
from thinking of less worthy things. Now, I think you will agree with
me that there is nothing women are really so fond of as a Church of
some sort. To be devout is as much a part of a woman's disposition as to
love--the passion of devoutness sometimes takes the place of the passion
of love in her nature. Now, I want to give her this idea of a Church to
work