ting of Camford--not of a divine
Utopia or a sunken Atalantis.

Bruce, so far from being troubled by his own evil deeds, was proud of a
success which supported a pet theory of his infidel opinions. He made
no sort of secret of it, and laughed openly at the fool whom he had
selected for his victim.

"But after all," said Brogten, who had plenty of common sense, "your
triumph was very slight."

"How do you mean? I chose the most obtrusively religious man in Saint
Werner's, and, in the course of a very short time, I had him, of his own
will, roaring drunk."

"And what's the inference?"

"That what men call religion is half cant, half the accident of
circumstances."

"Pardon me, you're out in your conclusion; it only shows that Hazlet was
a hypocrite, or at the best a weak, vain, ignorant fellow. The very
obtrusiveness and uncharitableness of his religion proved its unreality.
Now I could name dozens of men who would see you dead on the floor
rather than do as you have taught Hazlet to do--men, in fact, with whom
you simply _daren't_ try the experiment."

"_Daren't_! why not?"

"Why, simply because they breathe such a higher and better atmosphere
than either you or I, that you would be abashed by their mere presence."

"Pooh! I don't believe it," said Bruce, with an uneasy laugh; "mention
any such man."

"Well, Suton for instance, or Lord De Vayne."

"Suton is an unpleasant fellow, and I shouldn't choose to try him,
because he's a bore. But I bet you what you like that I make De Vayne
drunk before a month's over."

"Done! I bet you twenty pounds you don't."

Disgusting that the young, and pure-hearted, and amiable De Vayne should
be made the butt of the machinations of such men as Bruce and Brogten!
But so it was. So it was; I could not invent facts like these. They
never could float across my imagination, or if they did, I should reject
them as the monstrous chimeras of a heated brain. I can conceive a
man's private wickedness,--the wickedness which he confines within his
own heart, and only brings to bear upon others so far as is demanded by
his own fancied interests; I can imagine, too, an open and willing
partnership in villainy, where hand joins in hand, and face answereth to
face. But that any knowing the plague of their own hearts, should
deliberately endeavour to lead others into sin, coolly and deliberately,
without even the blinding mist of passion to hide the path which they
are treadi