"Yes," said Howard, "that is what I am doing. I suppose I am
naturally sceptical; but I want to put aside all that stands on
insecure evidence, and all the sham terminology that comes from a
muddled delight in the supernatural. I want to give up and clear
away all that is not certain--material things must be brought to
the test of material laws--and to see what is left."

"Well," said Mrs. Graves, "now I will tell you my own very simple
experience. I began, I think, with a very formal religion, and I
tried in my youth to attach what was really instinctive to
religious motives. It got me into a sad mess, because I did not
dare to go direct to life. I used to fret because your uncle seemed
so indifferent to these things. He was a wise and good man, and
lived by a sort of inner beauty of character that made all mean
cruel spiteful petty things impossible to him. Then when he died, I
had a terrible time to go through. I felt utterly adrift. My old
system did not give me the smallest help. I was trying to find an
intellectual solution. It was then that I met Miss Gordon, the
great evangelist. She saw I was unhappy, and she said to me one
day: 'You have no business to be unhappy like this. What you want
is STRENGTH, and it is there all the time waiting for you! You are
arguing your case with God, complaining of the injustice you have
received, trying to excuse yourself, trying to find cause to blame
Him. Your life has been broken to pieces, and you are trying to
shelter yourself among the fragments. You must cast them all away,
and thank God for having pierced through the fortress in which you
were imprisoned. You must just go straight to Him, and open your
heart, as if you were opening a window to the sun and air.' She did
not explain, or try to give me formulas or phrases, she simply