will, like a stone.  A moment after, the gable of the church appeared against the sky, and she recognised the poor, ridiculous creature in the tattered black bonnet, whose stiff, crooked appearance she had known since childhood.  She had changed little in the last twenty years.  She walked with the same sidling gait her hands crossed in front of her like a doll.  Her life had been lived about St. Joseph’s; the church had always been the theatre and centre of her thoughts.  Doubtless she was on her way to Benediction, and the temptation to follow her arose, but was easily resisted.  Evelyn paid the cabman his fare, and in an increasing tremor of nervous agitation, she crossed the gravelled space in front of the presbytery.  The attendant showed her into the same bare room, where there was nothing to distract her thoughts from herself except the four prints on the walls.  She had recourse to them in the hope of stimulating her religious fervour, but as she gazed at St. Monica and St. Augustine she remembered the poor woman she had just seen.  There had been scorn of her ridiculous appearance in her heart, and pride that she, Evelyn, had been given a more beautiful body, more perfect health, and a clearer intelligence.  So she was overcome with shame.  How dare she have scorned this holy woman.  If she had been more richly gifted by Nature, to what shameful usage had she put her body and her talents?  And Evelyn thought how much more lovely in God’s eyes was this poor deformed woman.  To sin is the common lot of humanity; but she had done more than commit sins, she had committed the sin, she had striven to tear out of her heart that sense of right and wrong which God had planted there.  She had denied the ideal as the Jews had denied Christ.  Owen had not done that; he lived up to his principles, such as they were.  But she had not thought she was acting right, she had always known that she was doing wrong, and she had gone on doing wrong, stifling her conscience, hoping always that it would be the last time.

That poor woman whose appearance had raised a contemptuous thought in her heart had never sinned against her faith.  She had not sought to raise doubts in her heart concerning God and morals; she had lived in ardent belief and love, never doubting that God watched her from his heaven, whither he would call her in good time.  Almighty God!  She was struck with fear lest she did not believe all that this poor woman believed.  Did she believe that she, Evelyn Innes, would appear at the final judgment and be assigned a place for ever and ever in either eternal bliss or torment?  She did not know if she believed this.  Last night she was sure she believed, but to-day she did not know....  She did not know that heaven was as this poor woman imagined it.  She asked herself if she believed in a future life of any sort?  She was not sure, she did not know; she was only sure that whether there be a future life or none, our obligation to live according to