walk over the grassy road, under the
brown and white branches of the sycamores,
into Old Chester, to Dr. Lavendar's
church. "I like to come to your
church," she told him, "because you
don't preach quite such long sermons as
Mr. Fenn does." But when it rained
or was very hot she chose the shorter
walk and sat under John Fenn, looking
up at his pale, ascetic face, lighted from
within by his young certainties
concerning the old ignorances of people
like Dr. Lavendar--life and death and
eternity. Of Dr. Lavendar's one certainty,
Love, he was deeply ignorant, this
honest boy, who was so concerned for
Philippa's father's soul! But Philippa
did not listen much to his certainties; she
coaxed his little sister into her pew, and
sat with the child cuddled up against
her, watching her turn over the leaves of
the hymn-book or trying to braid the
fringe of Miss Philly's black silk mantilla
into little pigtails. Sometimes Miss
Philly would look up at the careworn
young face in the pulpit and think how
holy Mary's brother was, and how
learned--and how shabby; for he had
only a housekeeper, Mrs. Semple, to
take care of him and Mary. Not but