Howard back yander a mess of trout. He likes one occasional, and it's all I can do for a kindness he did me once. I stayed all the afternoon and talked to him.
He likes to talk to me, though he's a highly eddicated man and I'm only an ignorant old sailor, because he's one of the folks that's GOT to talk or they're miserable, and he finds listeners scarce around here.
The Glen folks fight shy of him because they think he's an infidel. He ain't that far gone exactly--few men is, I reckon--but he's what you might call a heretic.
Heretics are wicked, but they're mighty int'resting.
It's jest that they've got sorter lost looking for God, being under the impression that He's hard to find--which He ain't never. Most of 'em blunder to Him after awhile, I guess. I don't think listening to Mr.
Howard's arguments is likely to do me much harm. Mind you, I believe what I was brought up to believe. It saves a vast of bother--and back of it all, God is good. The trouble with Mr. Howard is that he's a leetle TOO clever. He thinks that he's bound to live up to his cleverness, and that it's smarter to thrash out some new way of getting to heaven than to go by the old track the common, ignorant folks is travelling.
But he'll get there sometime all right, and then he'll laugh at himself.""Mr. Howard was a Methodist to begin with," said Miss Cornelia, as if she thought he had not far to go from that to heresy.
"Do you know, Cornelia," said Captain Jim gravely, "I've often thought that if I wasn't a Presbyterian I'd be a Methodist.""Oh, well," conceded Miss Cornelia, "if you weren't a Presbyterian it wouldn't matter much what you were.
Speaking of heresy, reminds me, doctor--I've brought back that book you lent me--that Natural Law in the Spiritual World--I didn't read more'n a third of it. Ican read sense, and I can read nonsense, but that book is neither the one nor the other.""It IS considered rather heretical in some quarters,"admitted Gilbert, "but I told you that before you took it, Miss Cornelia.""Oh, I wouldn't have minded its being heretical. I can stand wickedness, but I can't stand foolishness," said Miss Cornelia calmly, and with the air of having said the last thing there was to say about Natural Law.
"Speaking of books, A Mad Love come to an end at last two weeks ago," remarked Captain Jim musingly. "It run to one hundred and three chapters. When they got married the book stopped right off, so I reckon their troubles were all over. It's real nice that that's the way in books anyhow, isn't it, even if 'tistn't so anywhere else?""I never read novels," said Miss Cornelia. "Did you hear how Geordie Russell was today, Captain Jim?""Yes, I called in on my way home to see him. He's getting round all right--but stewing in a broth of trouble, as usual, poor man.
'Course he brews up most of it for himself, but Ireckon that don't make it any easier to bear.""He's an awful pessimist," said Miss Cornelia.
"Well, no, he ain't a pessimist exactly, Cornelia. He only jest never finds anything that suits him.""And isn't that a pessimist?"
"No, no. A pessimist is one who never expects to find anything to suit him. Geordie hain't got THAT far yet.""You'd find something good to say of the devil himself, Jim Boyd.""Well, you've heard the story of the old lady who said he was persevering. But no, Cornelia, I've nothing good to say of the devil.""Do you believe in him at all?" asked Miss Cornelia seriously.
