s loved in one thing--he loves the
Christ best of all."

"Was not that a wonderful meeting, Mr. Winthrop?" Mrs. Flaxman asked,
after we had seated ourselves cosily by the bright fire in the
drawing-room.

"I do not profess to be a judge in such matters."

"I think a heathen would have felt some before unknown spiritual
influence there to-night, if he had understood our language," I
exclaimed.

"Heathen and Christian alike are not so susceptible to spiritual
influences as you, Medoline; so in harmony with the unseen and unknowable
as you are getting to be."

"Religion cannot be classed with the unknowable. God only leaves us in
uncertainty when we wilfully close our eyes to his teachings."

"You place no restrictions, then, on the benevolence of your Creator."

"I shall not make myself a different and narrower creed than the Bible
provides."

"Men read the Bible and formulate creeds as opposite as the poles. The
pendulum of their belief takes in not merely an arc, but the entire
circle."

"I think they are wisest who leave creeds; I mean the non-essentials, to
those who try to penetrate mysteries which, maybe, even the angels look
upon as too sacred for them to explore, and just take what is necessary
to make us Christ-like."

"My dear child, that is taking at a single bound faith's highest peak."

"I suppose the way-faring man, of whom the Bible speaks, does that. God
may have different patents of nobility from us. I do not mean in the
mere matter of birth, but of what, even to our dim vision, is vastly
higher--the intellectual dower."

"Medoline tries very hard to assure herself that her Mill Road favorites
are royalties in exile," Mr. Winthrop said, with a smile, turning to Mrs.
Flaxman.

"I cannot say if she goes quite that far, but she certainly thinks that
she has found among them some diamonds of the first water, though she
cannot but acknowledge they lack the polishing touches to bring out more
effectually their sparkle and brilliancy."

"I do not know if the best among them have suffered anything from the
lack of the human lapidary's skill. He often, at the best, is a mere
bungler, and while he makes sure to bring out the brilliancy, laps off
other finer qualities the lack of which no spark or brilliancy can
compensate," I replied, by no means convinced, and thinking all the time
of Mrs. Le Grande who had certainly received plenty of polishing touches,
but sadly lacked higher mental and moral