at the Doctor
seemed to be closing the Bible.

"This completes the list of household baptisms. I think they are
sufficient."

"But, Doctor, not one of these households are said to have had children
in them, and if they did have children the children must have been old
enough to believe, because it is stated in the case of every one of them
that those that were baptized believed or received the word that was
spoken. They were all old enough to hear, to understand and to believe
the Word."

"From all the passages which I have heard in these discussions," said
the father, "one thing seems to stand out very plainly about baptism,
and that is that in the Bible times faith had to come before baptism."

"If this is so," said Dorothy, "then infant baptism is unscriptural,
because it is a baptism without faith. Infants can not exercise faith."

"Daughter," said the Doctor, "you are mistaken. I can show you that in
the case of every infant baptism there is always a faith that precedes
the baptism."

"What do you mean, Doctor?" asked Dorothy in great perplexity.

At this moment the telephone bell rang and Dorothy was called to speak
to a girl friend, who extended to her an invitation for a carriage ride
on the next afternoon. In a few moments the conversation was resumed.

CHAPTER VIII.

WRONGING THE LITTLE ONES.

"Doctor Vincent," said Dorothy on her return to the room, "you were
saying that the baptism of an infant is always preceded by faith. How
can that be? Can an infant exercise faith?"

"Not the infant, but the father or mother."

"Oh, you mean it is the parent that has faith! And do you baptize an
infant because the parent has faith?"

"Yes. Either the parent or the god-parent must have faith."

"The god-parent!" exclaimed Dorothy in a puzzled tone. "What is a
god-parent?"

"If the child has not a parent, then some Christian man or woman
believes for the child and is thus called its god-father or god-mother."

"And so the infant, in order to have baptism, must have some person to
believe for it?"

"Yes, my daughter, you catch the idea exactly."

"I thought you said just now that infants ought to be baptized because
of their heavenly nature, and now you say they cannot be baptized unless
they can get some Christian man or woman to believe for them."

The Doctor for a moment was startled as he saw where his arguments had
brought him. He saw in a flash that both of the statements could not be