“I never interfere personally with my parishioners, Miss Vancourt”—­ he said—­“To attend church or stay away from church is a matter of conscience with each individual, and must be left to individual choice.  I should be the last person in the world to entertain a bad opinion of anyone simply because he or she never went to church.  That would be foolish indeed!  Some of the noblest and best men in Christendom to-day never go to church,—­but they are none the less noble and good!  They have their reasons of conscience for non-committing themselves to accepted forms of faith, and it often turns out that they are more truly Christian and more purely religious than the most constant church-goer that ever lived.”

Maryllia gave a little sigh of sudden relief.

“Ah, you are a broad-minded Churchman!” she said.  “I am glad!  Very glad!  Because you have no doubt followed the trend of modern thought,—­and you must have read all the discussions in the magazines and in the books that are written on such subjects,—­and you can understand how difficult it is to a person like myself to decide what is right when so many of the wisest and most educated men agree to differ.”

Walden stopped abruptly in his walk.

“Please do not mistake me, Miss Vancourt,” he said gravely, and with emphasis—­“I should be sorry if you gathered a wrong opinion of me at the outset of our acquaintance.  As your minister I feel that I ought to make my position clear to you.  You say that I have probably followed the trend of modern thought—­and I presume that you mean the trend of modern thought in religious matters.  Now I have not ‘followed’ it, but I have patiently studied it, and find it in all respects deplorable and disastrous.  At the same time I would not force the high truths of religion on any person, nor would I step out of my way to ask anyone to attend church if he or she did not feel inclined to do so.  And why?  Because I fully admit the laxity and coldness of the Church in the present day—­and I know that there are many ministers of the Gospel who do not attract so much as they repel.  I am not so self-opinionated as to dream that I, a mere country parson, can succeed in drawing souls to Christ when so many men of my order, more gifted than I, have failed, and continue to fail.  But I wish you quite frankly to understand that the trend of modern thought does not affect the vows I took at my ordination,—­ that I do not preach one thing, and think another,—­and that whatever my faults and shortcomings may be, I most earnestly endeavour to impress the minds of all those men and women who are committed to my care with the beauty, truth and saving grace of the Christian Faith.”

Maryllia was silent.  She appeared to be looking at the daisies in the grass.

“I hope,” he continued quietly, “you will forgive this rather serious talk of mine.  But when you spoke of ’the trend of modern thought,’ it seemed necessary to me to let you know at once and straightly that I am not with it,—­that I do not belong to the modern school.  Professing to be a Christian minister, I try to be one,—­very poorly and unsuccessfully I know,—­but still, I try!”