he had seen some brilliant coloured snake lift its head from a thicket ready to sting she saw the movement and bit her rosy under lip how you hate me she murmured � not all the good i have tried to do for you would ever move you to a kind thought of me do you think you are quite just or even quite christian but there i will not worn you any more you shall go your own way you shall keep to your narrow round of work in � miserable mean little � i promise you that you shall be forgotten � even by me � after to day he bent his head so it will be best he answered suddenly she went straight up to him and laid a hand on his arm she raised her face � that lovely pure oval of perfect pearl and rose with the large eyes lighting it up like the tragedy of a quiet life parson she said in a half whisper � i believe you are afraid of me he met her glance with a sad he knew his own strength and weakness and made no pretence to himself of being not as other men are you are right he replied in cold quiet tones � i am afraid of you i am not such a coward as to refuse to admit it a smile trembled on the sweet mouth you might � even you � might love me a little some day she murmured his eyes looked down into hers if i were made drunk � as you were when you gave yourself to dan he said with stem and deliberate emphasis � i might love you as other men do � for the moment and that moment would be my soul s she drew herself away from him with a gesture of anger and offence her bosom heaved quickly oh you are cruel � you are brutal she said � you are not a true christian he caught at the words with a sudden passion of feeling true christian what is that do you know is it to be a man whose of so called christianity into is it to be like some of the true christian clergy who are so anxious for the social purity of the nation that they will crowd music halls to and approve a half is it to secretly in vice and yet present an external front of sham virtue to the world is it to without reproach women like you � men like your husband � who pay large sums of money to church in order that their of social vice may be covered and by the support of such members of the christian whose can be bought for so much cash down holy orders i the � been to stand for many a deed the hour in his t she stood g mr at him in a kind of surprise then she appeared to gather a sort of st e d f about her � an air such as thai by queen of id an axe too mr � she said a air � you take the sins of too and are on your own brethren tbey have a very part to you know i tbey have to preach a which very few people believe oi � and then of course society doesn t like to be preached at and told disagreeable truths unless u s done in a sort of theatrical way when they think it s rather � a sunday morning variety entertainment but really a clergyman needs to have plenty of tact to avoid take royal people for example i � suppose a parson were to dare to tell them the truth of themselves he would never he asked to preach before again think what a disgrace that d for him now � and she nodded at � if you had only let me go on helping you i would have had you preach before the king i could ea have arranged it he smiled coldly at her complete vou would have chosen a most preacher � he said not at all i could have told you exactly what to say and she laughed like an amused child � pretty and pleasant things � about peace nd universal things he wouldn t mind hearing just for ten minutes how kings are always the lord s and get their places in before any one else has a chance � and how their very faults only arise from the difficulties of their position that s the sort of thing that doesn t offend why with a little and push i would have made you a bishop in a the tragedy of a quiet life as one may prefer heaven to hell i prefer the obscurity of � he answered and you shall have it she said with a sudden burst of impatience � you shall never again come out of it be quite sure of that i but to day � just for to day � be kind to me he looked at her her eyes filled with tears they up and fell down her fair cheeks he hesitated � then went up to her gently and took her hand he said � i cannot be kind � to you i know you too well i doubt you too much you asked me to come and see you to day and i came simply as your former and in coming i intended to point out to you what i feel to be the truth � that if it had not been for your cruelty and and the secret wickedness of your relations with dan � my wife he paused and a shuddering sigh broke from him � my poor little wife would not have been murdered i have imagined � at times � that her death lies quite as much 