social propriety; it was a desire to
propitiate this young man who was
living in certain errors of belief, so that
he would be in a friendly attitude of
mind and open to the arguments which
were always burning on the lips of
Edward Irving's follower. He did not
mean to begin them until they were at
supper; so he and John Fenn sat in
silence waiting Philippa's summons to
the dining-room. Neither of them had
any small talk; Mr. Roberts was making
sure that he could trust his memory
to repeat those wailing cadences of the
Voice, and John Fenn, still shaken by
something he could not understand that
had been hidden in what he understood
too well--a sinner's indifference to grace--
was trying to get back to his serene,
impersonal arrogance.

As for Philippa, she was frightened
at her temerity in having invited the
minister to a Hannahless supper; her
flutter of questions as to "what" and
"how" brought the old woman from her
bed, in spite of the girl's half-hearted
protests that she "mustn't think of
getting up! Just tell me what to do,"
she implored, "I can manage. We are