heir relaxation, so far as they can, in
privacy. Mr. Hazard liked the society of clever men and agreeable women;
he was bound to keep an eye on the progress of his own church; he
stepped not an inch outside the range of his clerical duty and
privilege; yet ill-natured persons, and there were such in his parish,
might say that he was carrying on a secular flirtation in his own church
under the pretense of doing his duty. Perhaps he felt the risk of
running into this peril. He invited no public attention to the manner in
which he passed this part of his time, and never alluded to the subject
in other company.

To make his incessant attention still more necessary, it happened that
Hazard's knowledge and his library were often drawn upon by Wharton and
his workmen. Not only was he learned in all matters which pertained to
church arrangement and decoration, but his collection of books on the
subject was the best in New York, and his library touched the church
wall. Wharton had a quantity of his books in constant use, and was
incessantly sending to consult about points of doubt. Hazard was bent
upon having every thing correct, and complained sadly when he found that
his wishes were not regarded. He lectured Wharton on the subject of
early Christian art until he saw that Wharton would no longer listen,
and then he went off to Miss Dudley, and lectured her.

Esther was not a good subject for instruction of this sort. She cared
little for what the early Christians believed, either in religion or
art, and she remembered nothing at all of his deep instruction on the
inferences to be drawn from the contents of crypts and catacombs. The
more earnest he became, the less could she make out his meaning. She
could not reconcile herself to draw the attenuated figures and haggard
forms of the early martyrs merely because they suited the style of
church decoration; and she could see no striking harmony of relation
between these ill-looking beings and the Fifth Avenue audience to whom
they were supposed to have some moral or sentimental meaning. After one
or two hesitating attempts to argue this point, she saw that it was
useless, and made up her mind that as a matter of ordinary good manners,
the least she could do was to treat Mr. Hazard civilly in his own
church, and listen with respect to his lectures on Christian art. She
even did her best to obey his wishes in all respects in which she
understood them, but here an unexpected and conf