med relieved when her cousin
told her that his hansom was at the door. The soft autumnal breeze
seemed to refresh her, and after a little while she was able to tell
Michael all that had passed between her and Mrs. Blake. Michael took it
very coolly; he seemed to have fully expected something of the kind.

'Poor soul! she will always be true to herself,' he observed. 'It is
singular how these unbalanced, pleasure-loving natures lean towards
asceticism--how rapidly they pass from one extreme to another. Even her
repentance is not free from selfishness. She would free herself from her
maternal responsibilities, as she freed herself from her marriage vows,
under the mistaken notion of expiating a sinful past; and she will
labour under the delusion that such an ill-conceived sacrifice will be
pleasing to the Almighty.'

'Yes; it is a great mistake,' she returned.

'A very great mistake. The longer I live, Audrey, the more I marvel at
the way people deceive themselves. The name of religion cloaks hidden
selfishness to an extent you could hardly credit; the majority are too
much engrossed in trying to save their own souls to care what becomes of
other people. One would think it was "Save yourself, and the devil take
the hindmost!" when one sees so-called Christians scurrying along the
narrow way, as they call it, without a thought to the brother or sister
who has fallen beside them.'

'It is very grievous,' returned Audrey sadly. 'What would my poor Cyril
have said to such an expiation? Michael, this interview with his mother
has tried me more than anything. I think the hardest thing in life is
when we see those we love turn down a wrong path, and when no entreaty
will induce them to retrace their steps.'

'It is a sight one sees every day,' was Michael's reply; and then, as he
saw how jaded and weary she was, he began to tell her about Kester, and
after that they talked of Mollie. And when Audrey found that Michael
approved of her plan, and was as anxious as she was herself that Mollie
should accompany them to Woodcote, she began to discuss the subject with
her old animation, and by the time the drive was over the harassed look
had passed away from her face.

CHAPTER XLVIII

ON MICHAEL'S BENCH

'What can I give thee back, O liberal
And princely giver, who has brought the gold
And purple of thine heart, unstained, untold,
And laid them out the outside of the wall,
For such as I to take