free her toes in turning: 'Although you are personally
unknown to me, I cannot leave you without expressing my deep sense of
your profound scholarship, and my admiration for the thoroughness of
your studies in divinity.'

'Your opinion gives me great pleasure,' said Somerset, bowing, and
fairly blushing. 'But, believe me, I am no scholar, and no theologian.
My knowledge of the subject arises simply from the accident that some
few years ago I looked into the question for a special reason. In the
study of my profession I was interested in the designing of fonts and
baptisteries, and by a natural process I was led to investigate the
history of baptism; and some of the arguments I then learnt up still
remain with me. That's the simple explanation of my erudition.'

'If your sermons at the church only match your address to-day, I shall
not wonder at hearing that the parishioners are at last willing to
attend.'

It flashed upon Somerset's mind that she supposed him to be the new
curate, of whose arrival he had casually heard, during his sojourn at
the inn. Before he could bring himself to correct an error to which,
perhaps, more than to anything else, was owing the friendliness of her
manner, she went on, as if to escape the embarrassment of silence:--

'I need hardly say that I at least do not doubt the sincerity of your
arguments.'

'Nevertheless, I was not altogether sincere,' he answered.

She was silent.

'Then why should you have delivered such a defence of me?' she asked
with simple curiosity.

Somerset involuntarily looked in her face for his answer.

Paula again teased the necklace. 'Would you have spoken so eloquently on
the other side if I--if occasion had served?' she inquired shyly.

'Perhaps I would.'

Another pause, till she said, 'I, too, was insincere.'

'You?'

'I was.'

'In what way?

'In letting him, and you, think I had been at all influenced by
authority, scriptural or patristic.'

'May I ask, why, then, did you decline the ceremony the other evening?'

'Ah, you, too, have heard of it!' she said quickly.

'No.'

'What then?'

'I saw it.'

She blushed and looked down the river. 'I cannot give my reasons,' she
said.

'Of course not,' said Somerset.

'I would give a great deal to possess real logical dogmatism.'

'So would I.'

There was a moment of embarrassment: she wanted to get away, but did
not precisely know how. He would have withdrawn had she not said, as if
rathe