terodoxy to the Archbishop. But I worked out a couple of
sound arguments as well, and I was greatly surprised to find that I
produced no effect whatever on the Archdeacon. He bluntly refused to
modify his plan of action.

I quoted to him the proverb which warns us to let sleeping dogs lie.
Under any ordinary circumstances this would have appealed strongly to
the Archdeacon. It was just the kind of wisdom by which he guides his
life. I was taken aback when he replied that Miss Petti-grew, so far
from being a sleeping dog, was a roaring lion. A moment later he called
her a ravenous evening wolf; so I gave up my proverb as useless. I then
reminded him that Lalage was evidently quite unaffected by the teaching
which she received, had in fact described modern science as a lot of
rot. The Archdeacon replied that, though Lalage escaped, others might
be affected; and that he was not quite sure even about Lalage, because
insidious poisons are most to be feared when they lie dormant in the
system for a time.

This brought me to the end of my two arguments and I had to invent
another on the spot. I am always rather ashamed to think of the one I
actually used, but I was driven against the wall and the position seemed
almost desperate. I suggested that Lalage's account of the scripture
lesson was in all probability quite unreliable.

"You know, Archdeacon," I said, "that all little girls are horrid
liars."

The insinuation that Lalage ever spoke anything but the truth was
treacherous and abominable. She has her faults; but I have not the
slightest doubt in my mind that her description of Miss Pettigrew's
scripture lesson was a perfectly honest account of the impression it
produced on her mind. The Archdeacon hesitated, and, hoping for the
best, I plunged deeper.

"Lalage in particular," I said, "is absolutely reckless about the
truth."

The Archdeacon shook his head mournfully.

"I wish I could think so," he said. "I should be glad, indeed, if I
could take your view of the matter; but in these days when the Higher
Criticism is invading our pulpits and our school rooms----"

His voice faded away into the melancholy silence and he continued
shaking his head.

This shows how much more important dogmatic truth is than the ordinary
everyday correspondence between statement and fact. To the Archdeacon a
lie of Lalage's would have been a minor evil in every way preferable,
if it came to a choice between the two, to Miss Pettigr