His friend found time one evening, as they sat smoking together, to
inquire into Hugh's occupations, and read him a friendly lecture on the
subject of making himself more useful. Hugh felt that it was useless
to argue the question; but when he came away, somewhat dizzied and
wearied by the tumultuous energy of his friend's life, he found himself
wondering exactly how much resulted from this buzzing and humming
organisation. There was not a marked difference between his friend's
parish and other parishes, except that there were certainly more
meetings. Hugh had indeed an uneasy sense that a man with less taste
for organisation, and more leisure for pastoral intercourse with his
flock, might have effected more. The vicar's chief concern indeed
seemed to be with the prosperous and healthy members of his parish; if
there was a case of destitution, of illness, of sorrow, it was
certainly inquired into; some hard-featured lady, with a strong sense
of rectitude and usefulness, would be commissioned to go and look into
the matter. She generally returned saying cheerfully that she had put
things straight, and that it turned out to be all their own fault.

But Hugh found his reflections taking a still more sceptical turn. The
vicar's theory was that we were all put into the world to be of use to
other people. But his idea of helping other people was not to help
them to what they desired, but to what he thought it was right that
they should desire. He had very little compassion, Hugh saw, for
failure and error. If a parishioner was in trouble, the vicar tended
to say he had no one to blame but himself for it. Hugh felt that he
did not wish to be in his friend's parish. If one was able-bodied and
sensible, one was put on a committee or two; if one was unfortunate or
obscure, one was invaded by a district visitor. If one was a
Dissenter, one would be treated with a kind of gloomy courtesy--for the
vicar was great on not alienating Dissenters, but bringing them in, as
he phrased it; and if a Dissenter became an Anglican, the vicar
rejoiced with what he believed to be the joy of the angels over a
repentant sinner, and made him a parish worker at once.

Then Hugh went further and deeper, and tried to ascertain what he
really felt on the subject of usefulness. Tracing back the
constitution of society to its origin, he saw that it was clear that
every one owed a certain duty of work to the community. A society
could not ex