“I am not sure that Rome is an enemy;”—­said the Bishop, musingly.

To this Walden gave no reply, and the conversation fell into other channels.  But, during the whole time of his visit, John was forced to realise, with much acute surprise and distress, that constant brooding on grief,—­and excessive spiritual emotion of an exalted and sensuous kind, with much perplexed pondering on human evils for which there seemed no remedy, had produced a painful impression of life’s despair and futility on Brent’s mind,—­an impression which it would be difficult to eradicate, and which would only be softened and possibly diminished by tenderly dealing with it as though it were an illness, and gradually bringing about restoration and recovery through the gentlest means.  Though sometimes it was to be feared that all persuasion would be useless, and that the scandalous spectacle of an English Bishop seceding to the Church of Rome would be exhibited with an almost theatrical effect in his friend’s case.  For the ornate ritual which the Bishop maintained in his Cathedral services was almost worthy of a Mass at St. Peter’s.  The old, simple chaste English style of ‘Morning Prayer’ was exchanged for ’Matins,’—­choristers perpetually chanted and sang,—­crosses were carried to and fro,—­banners waved—­processions were held—­and the ‘Via Crucis’ was performed by a select number of the clergy and congregation every Friday.

“I never have this sort of thing in my church,”—­said Walden, bluntly, on one occasion—­“My parishioners would not understand it.”

“Why not teach them to understand it?” asked the Bishop, dreamily.  They were standing together in the beautiful old Cathedral, now empty save for their presence, and Brent’s eyes were fixed with a kind of sombre wistfulness on a great gold crucifix up on the altar.

“Teach them to understand it?” echoed Walden, with a touch of sorrow and indignation—­“You are my Bishop, but if you commanded me to teach them these ‘vain repetitions’ prohibited by the Divine Master, I should disobey you!”

The Bishop flushed red.

“You disapprove?”

“I disapprove of everything that tends to put England back again into the old religious fetters which she so bravely broke and cast aside,”—­said John, warmly—­“I disapprove of all that even hints at the possibility of any part of the British Empire becoming the slave of Rome!”

Brent gave a weary gesture.

“In religious matters it is wiser to be under subjection than free,”—­he said, with a sigh—­“In a state of freedom we may think as we please—­and freedom of thought breeds doubt,—­whereas in a state of subjection we think as we must, and so we are gradually forced into an attitude of belief.  The spread of atheism among the English is entirely due to the wild, liberty of opinion allowed tham by their forms of faith.”

“I do not agree with you!”—­declared Walden, firmly—­“The spread of atheism is due, not to freedom of opinion, nor forms of faith, but simply to the laxity and weakness of the clergy.”