Conference had passed without a ripple. Both the attendance and the
collections at his church were larger than ever before, and the tone of
the congregation toward him was altered distinctly for the better. As
for himself, he viewed with astonished delight the progress he had made
in his own estimation. He had taken Sister Soulsby's advice, and the
results were already wonderful. He had put aside, once and for all, the
thousand foolish trifles and childish perplexities which formerly had
racked his brain, and worried him out of sleep and strength. He borrowed
all sorts of books boldly now from the Octavius public library, and
could swim with a calm mastery and enjoyment upon the deep waters into
which Draper and Lecky and Laing and the rest had hurled him. He dallied
pleasurably, a little languorously, with a dozen aspects of the case
against revealed religion, ranging from the mild heterodoxy of Andover's
qualms to the rude Ingersoll's rollicking negation of God himself, as a
woman of coquetry might play with as many would-be lovers. They amused
him; they were all before him to choose; and he was free to postpone
indefinitely the act of selection. There was a sense of the luxurious in
this position which softened bodily as well as mental fibres. He ceased
to grow indignant at things below or outside his standards, and he
bought a small book which treated of the care of the hand and finger
nails.

Alice had accepted with deference his explanation that shapely hands
played so important a part in pulpit oratory. For that matter, she now
accepted whatever he said or did with admirable docility. It was months
since he could remember her venturing upon a critical attitude toward
him.

She had not wished to leave home, for the seaside or any other resort,
during the summer, but had worked outside in her garden more than usual.