rstood his complaint. That would be the first step towards his
letting me cure him. How else on earth do you fancy that Paul cured
those Corinthians about whom I have been reading lately?"

"Are you, too, going to quote Scripture against me? I am glad to find
that your studies extend to St. Paul."

"To tell you the truth, your sermon last Sunday puzzled me. I could
not comprehend (on your showing) how Paul got that wonderful influence
over those pagans which he evidently had; and as how to get influence
is a very favourite study of mine, I borrowed the book when I went
home, and read for myself; and the matter at last seemed clear enough,
on Paul's own showing."

"I don't doubt that: but I suspect your interpretation of the fact and
mine would not agree."

"Mine is simple enough. He says that what proved him to be an apostle
was his power. He is continually appealing to his power; and what can
he mean by that, but that he could do, and had done, what he professed
to do? He promised to make those poor heathen rascals of Greeks
better, and wiser, and happier men; and, I suppose, he made them so;
and then there was no doubt of his commission, or his authority, or
anything else. He says himself he did not require any credentials, for
they were his credentials, read and known of every one; he had made
good men of them out of bad ones, and that was proof enough whose
apostle he was."

"Well," said Frank half sadly, "I might say a great deal, of course,
on the other side of the question, but I prefer hearing what you
laymen think about it all."

"Will you be angry if I tell you honestly?"

"Did you ever find me angry at anything you said?"

"No. I will do you the justice to say that. Well, what we laymen say
is this. If the parsons have the authority of which they boast, why
don't they use it? If they have commission to make bad people good,
they must have power too; for He whose commission they claim, is not
likely, I should suppose, to set a man to do what he cannot do."

"And we can do it, if people would but submit to us. It all comes
round again to the same point."

"So it does. How to get them to listen. I tried to find out how Paul
achieved that first step; and when I looked he told me plainly enough.
By becoming all things to all men; by showing these people that he
understood them, and knew what was the matter with them. Now do you go
and do likewise by Vavasour, and then exercise your authority like a
pr