. We
believe that the great truths of life cannot be presented to our
fellow-creatures too often, or in too many different ways."

"And what," she asked, with a faint curl of her beautiful lips, "do you
consider the great truths of life?"

"Madam," he answered, with slightly reddening cheeks, "they vary for
every one of us, according to our capacity and our circumstances. What
they may mean," he added, after a moment's hesitation, "to people of
your social order, I do not know. It has not come within the orbit of my
experience. It was your villagers to whom I was proposing to talk."

There was a moment's silence. Gilbert Deyes and Lady Peggy exchanged
swift glances of amused understanding. Wilhelmina bit her lip, but she
betrayed no other sign of annoyance.

"To what religious body do you belong?" she asked.

"My friends," he answered, "and I, are attached to none of the
recognized denominations. Our only object is to try to keep alight in
our fellow-creatures the flame of spirituality. We want to help
them--not to forget."

"There is no name by which you call yourselves?" she asked.

"None," he answered.

"And your headquarters are where?" she asked.

"In Gloucestershire," he answered--"so far as we can be said to have any
headquarters at all."

"You have no churches then?" she asked.

"Any building," he answered, "where the people are to whom we desire to
speak, is our church. We look upon ourselves as missioners only."

"I am afraid," Wilhelmina said quietly, "that I am only wasting your
time in asking these questions. Still, I should like to know what
induced you to choose my village as an appropriate sphere for your
labours."

"We each took a county," he answered. "Leicestershire fell to my lot. I
selected Thorpe to begin with, because I have heard it spoken of as a
model village."

Wilhelmina's forehead was gently wrinkled.

"I am afraid," she said, "that I am a somewhat dense person. Your reason
seems to me scarcely an adequate one."

"Our belief is," he declared, "that where material prosperity is
assured, especially amongst this class of people, the instincts towards
spirituality are weakened."

"My people all attend church; we have no public-house; there are never
any scandals," she said.

"All these things," he admitted, "are excellent. But they do not help
you to see into the lives of these people. Church-going may become a
habit, a respectable and praiseworthy thing--and a thing expe