r I shouldn't be taking this trouble with you.
But you're what you are because you're where you are. The moment you try
on being somewhere else, you're done for. In all this world nobody else
comes to such unmerciful and universal grief as the unfrocked priest."

The phrase sent Theron's fancy roving. "I know a Catholic priest," he
said irrelevantly, "who doesn't believe an atom in--in things."

"Very likely," said Sister Soulsby. "Most of us do. But you don't hear
him talking about going and earning his living, I'll bet! Or if he
does, he takes powerful good care not to go, all the same. They've got
horse-sense, those priests. They're artists, too. They know how to allow
for the machinery behind the scenes."

"But it's all so different," urged the young minister; "the same things
are not expected of them. Now I sat the other night and watched those
people you got up around the altar-rail, groaning and shouting and
crying, and the others jumping up and down with excitement, and Sister
Lovejoy--did you see her?--coming out of her pew and regularly waltzing
in the aisle, with her eyes shut, like a whirling dervish--I positively
believe it was all that made me ill. I couldn't stand it. I can't stand
it now. I won't go back to it! Nothing shall make me!"

"Oh-h, yes, you will," she rejoined soothingly. "There's nothing else to
do. Just put a good face on it, and make up your mind to get through by
treading on as few corns as possible, and keeping your own toes well in,
and you'll be surprised how easy it'll all come to be. You were
speaking of the revival business. Now that exemplifies just what I was
saying--it's a part of our machinery. Now a church is like everything
else,--it's got to have a boss, a head, an authority of some sort, that
people will listen to and mind. The Catholics are different, as you say.
Their church is chuck-full of authority--all the way from the Pope
down to the priest--and accordingly they do as they're told. But the
Protestants--your Methodists most of all--they say 'No, we won't have
any authority, we won't obey any boss.' Very well, what happens? We
who are responsible for running the thing, and raising the money and
so on--we have to put on a spurt every once in a while, and work up a
general state of excitement; and while it's going, don't you see that
THAT is the authority, the motive power, whatever you like to call it,
by which things are done? Other denominations don't need it. We do,