"You may tell Patrick that we shan't need the carriage for the
station," that sagacious woman said coolly.
Maurice was both surprised and touched by the gratification which his
engagement gave to his friends. Mrs. Wilson might be expected to take
satisfaction, since any woman is likely to approve of any match which
she may be allowed to have a hand in promoting; the Staggchases were
delighted, and Mrs. Morison received him with a kindness which moved
him more than anything else. Mrs. Morison treated him much as if he
were her son. She spoke wisely to him about his future, and she had a
word of warning on the subject of his attitude toward religion.
"My dear Maurice," she said, after she had come to call him by that
name, "let me give you a caution. The most fanatical belief is less
evil than dogmatic denial. If you are really the agnostic you claim to
be, your very confession that the truth is too great for human grasp
binds you to respect the unknown."
"But one cannot respect dogmas," he objected.
"We were not speaking of dogmas," she responded with sweet and
dignified earnestness, "but of the mystery of life and the great
unknown that incloses it.
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