s, he could hardly remember when he had been
present as a formal participant at a religious ceremony. He had,
therefore, no preconceived ideas concerning Christian worship, and not
much in the way of prejudice. He had dropped in occasionally on the
services of foreign cathedrals, but purely as a tourist who made no
attempt to understand what was taking place. On this particular morning,
however, the pressure of needs and emotions within his soul induced an
inquiring frame of mind.

On reaching the pew to which Lois led him he sat down awkwardly, looking
for a place in which to bestow his top-hat without ruffling its gloss.
Lois herself fell on her knees in prayer. The act took him by surprise.
It was new to him. He was aware that she said prayers in private, and
had a vague idea of the import of the rite; but this public, unabashed
devotion gave him a little shock till he saw that others came in and
engaged in it. They entered and knelt, not in obedience to any
pre-concerted ceremony, but each on his own impulse, and rose, looking,
so it seemed to Thor, reassured and stilled.

That was his next impression--reassurance, stillness. There was a
serenity here that he had never before had occasion to recognize as part
of life. People whom he knew in a commonplace way as this or that in the
village sat hushed, tranquil, dignified above their ordinary state,
raised to a level higher than any that could be reached by their own
attainments or personalities. It seemed to him that he had come into a
world of new standards, new values. Lois herself, as she rose from her
knees and sat beside him, gained in a quality which he had no capacity
to gauge.

He belonged to the new scientific school which studies and co-relates,
but is chary of affirmations, and charier still of denials. "Never deny
anything--_ne niez jamais rien_"--had been one of the standing bits of
advice on the part of old Hervieu, under whom he had worked at the
Institut Pasteur. He kept himself, therefore, in a non-hostile attitude
toward all theories and systems. He had but a hazy idea as to Christian
beliefs, but he knew in a general way that they were preposterous.
Preposterous as they might be, it was his place, however, to observe
phenomena, and, now that he had an opportunity to do so, he observed
them.

"How did you like it?" Lois ventured, timidly, as after service they
walked along County Street.

"I liked it."

"Why?"

The answer astonished her. "