outward observances of religion after. Many a man who makes a great parade of religion is at heart ten times more sinful than he whom the world calls infidel, yet has throughout his whole life been true to every generous, noble instinct, doing his duty to his neighbour without shrinking, asking and expecting no approval, save that which is given by his own conscience. Such a man's life is, to my thinking, a far truer worship of his Creator than any amount of empty prayer ascending daily from a selfish, presumptuous soul, that glorifies self in his Maker, and believes that words, not acts, are reckoned up above."
"Then you would abolish prayer?" I ask; "you would do away with a man's going to church?"
"No," he says; I believe in the efficacy of the one and the good of the other, if he seeks them because he feels the need of them; not from custom or habit, or because the omission will be observed of his fellow-men. Do you believe that prayer is of any use to a man who takes his every-day thoughts with him to worship and, outwardly observant, hugs himself in the consciousness that he is doing something at once pleasant and profitable, making his peace with God and mankind at the same moment?"
I shake my head. "You would sweep away all the old landmarks, Paul. How would you teach a child to understand this?"
"I would say, 'Be good, for goodness' own sake, and because it is honest and right,' not 'Be good, and you shall go to heaven; be naughty and you shall go to hell.' I call that plan one of lollipops and terrorism. The child is too young to take in all the things that are poured into its mind; it gets a vague idea that being good is a very hard thing, but to be rewarded by something nice, and that to be naughty is very pleasant, but will be followed in due course by something uncommonly nasty; and, between the two, the poor little wretch loses its head and gets an entirely false idea of religion. Now, if the instinct of right were implanted in that
