第6章

“Thenwemustalwayshavelived，sinceeternityisacircle。“

“Whynot，Isobel？ThatiswhatIwastryingtosay。Well，ifweliveeternally，wemustlivesomewhere，perhapsinthoseplanets，orothers，whichitwouldbeawastetokeepempty。“

“Idaresay——thoughNaturedoesnotmindwaste，orwhatseemstobewaste。Butwhyshouldyouthinkoflivingeternallyatall？Manypeopleliveagreatdealtoolongasitis，anditishorribletobelievethattheygoonforever。“

“Youseetheymightgrowtosomethingsplendidintheend，Isobel。Youmustnotjudgethembywhattheyarenow。“

“Oh!Iknow，thecaterpillarandthebutterfly，andalltherestofit。“

“TheBible“——continuedGodfreyimperturbably——whenshecuthimshort。

“Well，whatoftheBible？Howdoyouknowthatitistrue？“

“BecauseIdoknowit，thoughthetruthinitmaybedifferentforeveryone。Whatismore，Iknowthatonedayyouwillagreewithme。“

Shelookedathimcuriouslyintheflashingwaythatwaspeculiartoher，forsomethinginhistoneandmannerimpressedher。

“Perhaps。Ihopeso，Godfrey，butatpresentIoftenfeelasthoughI

believedinnothing，exceptthatIamIandyouareyou，andmyfatheris——therehe’scallingme。Goodbye，“andshewasgone。

Thisparticularconversation，oneofmany，had，asithappened，importantresultsonthelivesofthesetwoyoungcreatures。Isobel，inwhomtheloveofTruth，howeveruglyitmightbeandhoweverdestructiveofhope，faith，charityandallthevirtues，wasaburning，inbredpassion，tooktothesecretstudyoftheologyinordertofindoutwhyGodfreywassoconvincedastotheteachingsoftheBible。Shewasnotoldormellowedenoughtounderstandthattherealreasonmustbediscovered，notintheletterbutinthespirit，thatisintheesotericmeaningofthesayingsastoreceivingtheKingdomofHeavenlikeachildandthenecessityofbeingbornagain。

Thereforewithafierceintensity，thrustingasidethespiritanditspromptingswhichperhapsareshadowsoftheonlyrealtruths，shewrestledwiththeletter。ShereadtheDivines，alsomuchoftheHigherCriticism，thelivesofSaints，theSacredBooksthemselvesandmanyotherthings，onlytoarisebewildered，andtoagreatextentunbelieving。

“WhyshouldIbelievewhatIcannotprove？“shecriedinherheart，andoncewithherlipstoGodfrey。

Hemadeheraverywiseanswer，althoughatthemomentitdidnotstrikeeitheroftheminthatlight。

“Whenyoutellmeofanythingthatyoucanreallyprove，Iwillshowyouwhy，“hesaid。Tothisheaddedasuggestionthatwasmostunwise，namely，thatsheshouldconsulthisfather。

NowMr。Knightwas，itistrue，askilledtheologianofacertain，narrowschoolandlearnedinhisway。Itisprobable，however，thatinallthewideworlditwouldhavebeendifficulttofindanymanlesssympathetictoamindlikeIsobel’sormorelikelytoantagonizehereagerandbuddingintelligence。Everydoubthemetwithintolerantdenial；everyargumentwithoffensivecontradiction；everyquerywithreferencestotexts。

Finally，helosthistemper，forbeitacknowledged，thatthisgirlwaspersistent，farfromhumble，andinawayasdogmaticashimself。

HetoldherthatshewasnotaChristian，andinherwrathsheagreedwithhim。Hesaidthatshehadnorighttobeinchurch。Sherepliedthatifthisweresoshewouldnotcomeand，herfatherbeingindifferentuponthepoint(LadyJanedidnotcountinsuchmatters)，ceasedherattendance。Itwastheoldstoryofastrait-mindedbigotforcingalarge-mindeddoubteroutofthefoldthatoughttohavebeenwideenoughforbothofthem。Moreover，thisdifferenceofopiniononmattersofpublicandspiritualinterestendedinaprivateandmundaneanimosity。Mr。Knightcouldneverforgiveapupilofhisown，whoseabilityherecognized，whodaredtoquestionhispontificalannouncements。Tohimthematterwaspersonalratherthanoneofreligioustruth，fortherearecertainmindsinwhosecrucibleseverythingisresolvedindividually，andhiswasoneofthem。Hewasthelargestmattersthroughhisownspecialandhighly-magnifyingspectacles。So，tobebrief，theyquarrelledonceandforall，andthenceforwardneverattemptedtoconcealtheircordialdislikeofeachother。

SuchwasoneresultofthisunluckydiscussionastotheexactconditionsoftheplanetMars，godofwar。AnotherwasthatGodfreydevelopedastronginterestinthestudyoftheheavenlybodiesandwhensomedomesticdebatearoseastohisfuturecareer，announcedwithmildfirmnessthatheintendedtobeanastronomer。Hisfather，towhomtheheavenlybodieswerelessthanthedustbeneathhishumanfeetandwhobelievedinhisheartthattheyhadbeencreated，everyoneofthem，togiveacertainamountoflighttotheinhabitantsofthisworldwhentherewasnomoon，wasfuriousinhisarcticfashion，especiallyashewasawarethatwithafewdistinguishedexceptions，thesehostsofheavendidnotrewardtheirvotarieswitheitherwealthorhonour。

“Iintendyouformyownprofession，theChurch，“hesaidbluntly。“Ifyouchoosetostar-gazeintheintervalsofyourreligiousduties，itisnoaffairofmine。Butpleaseunderstand，Godfrey，thateitheryouentertheChurchorIwashmyhandsofyou。Inthateventyoumayseekyourlivinginanywayyoulike。“

GodfreyremonstratedmeeklytotheeffectthathehadnotmadeuphismindastohisfitnessforHolyOrdersorhiswishtoundertakethem。

“Youmean，“repliedhisfather，“thatyouhavebeeninfectedbythatperniciousgirl，Isobel。Well，atanyrate，Iwillremoveyoufromherevilinfluence。Iamgladtosaythatowingtothefactthatmylittleschoolherehasprospered，Iaminapositiontodothis。IwillsendyouforayeartoaworthySwisspastorwhomImetasadelegatetotherecentEvangelicalCongress，tolearnFrench。HetoldmehedesiredanEnglishpupiltobeinstructedinthattongueandgeneralknowledge。Iwillwritetohimatonce。Ihopethatinnewsurroundingsyouwillforgetallthesewildideasand，afteryourcourseatcollege，settledowntobeagoodandusefulmaninthewalkoflifetowhichyouaresoclearlycalled。“

Godfrey，whoonsuchoccasionsknewhowtobesilent，madenoanswer，althoughtheattackuponIsobelprovokedhimsorely。Inhisheartindeedhereflectedthatayear’sseparationfromhisparentwouldnotbedifficulttobear，especiallybeneaththeshadowoftheSwissmountainswhichsecretlyhelongedtoclimb。AlsohereallywishedtoacquireFrench，beingaladwithsomedesireforknowledgeandappreciationofitsadvantages。Sohelookedhumblemerelyandtookthefirstopportunitytoslipfromthepresenceofthefiercelittlemanwithsmalleyes，straight，sandyhairandaslitwherehislipsshouldbe，throughwhoseagency，althoughitwashardtobelieveit，hehadappearedinthisdisagreeableandyetmostinterestingworld。

Inpointoffacthehadanassignation，ofaninnocentsort。Ofcourseitwaswiththe“pernicious“IsobelandtheplaceappointedwasthebeautifuloldAbbeyChurch。Heretheyknewthattheywouldbeundisturbed，asMr。Knightwastosleepatacountytowntwentymilesaway，whereonthefollowingmorninghehadbusinessastheexaminerofalocalGrammarSchool，andmustleaveatoncetocatchhistrain。

So，whenwatchingfromanupperwindow，hehadseenthegigwellontheroad，Godfreydepartedtohistryst。

Arrivinginthedimandbeauteousoldfane，thefirstthinghesawwasIsobelstandingaloneinthechancel，rightintheheartofashaftoflightthatfellonherthroughtherich-colouredglassofthegreatwestwindow，fornowitwaslateintheafternoon。Sheworeaveryunusualwhitegarmentthatbecameherwell，buthadnohatonherhead。PerhapsthiswasbecauseshehadtakenthefancytodoherplentifulfairhairintheoldPlantagenetfashion，thatisintwohorns，which，withmuchingenuityshehadcopiedmoreorlesscorrectlyfromthebrassofanancient，noblelady，whereofthetwointendedtotakeanimpression。Alsoshehadimitatedsomeoftheotherpeculiaritiesofthatpicturesquecostume，includingthelong，hangingsleeves。Inshort，sheworeafancydresswhichsheproposedtouseafterwardsatadance，andoneoftheobjectsoftherubbingtheywereabouttomake，wasthatshemightstudythedetailsmorecarefully。Atleast，thatwasherobject。Godfrey’swastoobtainanimpressionofthecrabbedinscriptionatthefootoftheeffigy。

Thereshestood，tallandimposing，herarmsfoldedonheryoungbreast，thepaintedlightsstrikingfullonherbroad，intellectualforeheadandlargegreyeyes，shiningtooinapatchofcrimsonaboveherheart。Lostinthoughtandperfectlystill，shelookedstrangethus，almostunearthly，somuchsothattheimpressionableandimaginativeGodfrey，seeinghersuddenlyfromtheshadow，halted，startledandalmostfrightened。

Whatdidsheresemble？Whatmightshenotbe？hequeriedtohimself。

Hisquickmindsuggestedananswer。Theghostofsomeladydeadagessince，killed，fortherewasthepatchofblooduponherbosom，standingabovethetombwhereinherbonescrumbled，anddreamingofsomeonefromwhomshehadbeendivorcedbydoomandviolence。

Hesickenedalittleatthethought；somedreadfelluponhimlikeashadowofFate’supliftedandpointedfinger，stoppinghisbreathandcausinghiskneestoloosen。Inamomentitwasgone，tobereplacedbyanotherthatwasnearerandmorenatural。Hewastobesentawayforayear，andthismeantthathewouldnotseeIsobelforayear。ItwouldbeaverylongyearinwhichhedidnotseeIsobel。HehadforgottenthatwhenhisfathertoldhimthathewastogotoSwitzerland。Nowthefactwaspainfullypresent。

HecameonupthelongnaveandIsobel，awakening，sawhim。

“Youarelate，“shesaidinasoftervoicethanwasusualtoher。

“Well，Idon’tmind，forIhavebeendreaming。IthinkIwenttosleepuponmyfeet。Idreamed，“sheadded，pointingtothebrass，“thatI

wasthatladyand——oh!allsortsofthings。Well，shehadherdaynodoubt，andImeantohaveminebeforeIamasdeadandforgottenassheis。OnlyIwouldliketobeburiedhere。I’llbecrematedandhavemyashesputunderthatstone；theywon’thurther。“

“Don’ttalklikethat，“hesaidwithalittleshiver，forherwordsjarreduponhim。