of the soul from festering and poisoning the spirit.
Nothing, it seems to me, is so much misunderstood as forgiveness. The
popular idea is that the whole benefit of forgiveness is to the person
who is forgiven. Really, there is a very much greater benefit to the
person who forgives. The one who is forgiven may merely escape
punishment, but the one who forgives experiences a positive spiritual
expansion. Believe me, Dave, it is the only philosophy which rings
true under the most critical tests; which is absolutely dependable in
every emergency."

"Is that Christianity?" he ventured.

"It is one side of Christianity. The other side is service. If you
are willing to forgive and ready to serve I don't think you need worry
much over the details of your creed. Creeds, after all, are not
expressed in words, but in lives. When you know how a man lives you
know what he believes--always."

"Suppose I forgive--what then?"

"Service. You are needed right now, Dave--forgive my frankness--your
country needs you right now. You have the qualities which make you
extremely valuable. You must dismiss this grievance from your mind, at
least dismiss your resentment over it, and then place yourself at the
disposal of your country. The way is so clear that it cannot be
misunderstood."

"That is what I had been thinking of," he said. "At least that part
about serving my country, although I don't think my motives were as
high as you would make them. But the war can't last. It'll be all
over before I can take a hand. Civilization has gone too far for such
a thing as this to last. It is unbelievable."

"I'm not so sure," she answered, gravely. "Of course, I know nothing
about Germany. But I do know something about our own people. I know
how selfish and individualistic and sordid and money-grabbing we have
been; how slothful and incompetent and self-satisfied we have been, and
I fear it will take a long war and sacrifices and tragedies altogether
beyond our present imagination to make us unselfish and public-spirited
and clean and generous; it will take the strain and emergency of war to
make us vigorous and efficient; it will take the sting of many defeats
to impose that humility which will be the beginning of our
regeneration. I am not worrying about the defeat of Germany. If our
civilization is better than that of Germany we shall win, ultimately,
and if our civilization is worse than that of Germany we shall be
de