"
Mrs. Herman was silent a moment while he waited for her answer. Her
eyes grew darker, and the color flushed in her cheeks.
"It is odd enough for me to be the champion of Puritanism," she said at
length, "and yet it seems to me that after all they did their work
well, and that it was permanent. They left on the land the stress of
sincerity and earnestness. Creeds fall away just as leaves drop from
the trees, but each leaf has helped. Religions decay, but the salvation
of the race must depend upon human steadfastness to conviction."
"Then I suppose that you think Phil is nearer to the heart of things
than I am."
"Not in the least. The difference between you is superficial rather
than real so long as you are both true to your convictions."
"But it seems to me," Maurice objected, "that Phil is looking at truth
as a sort of fetish. He seems to feel that the root of the matter is in
a dogma, and a dogma is only the fossil remains of a truth that is gone
by."
She laughed appreciatively.
"Have you caught the fever for making epigrams? I'm afraid there's a
good deal of truth in what you say about Cousin Philip.
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