there for an hour in his illumination he might have founded a
religion on Ludgate Hill. But the heavy hand of his guide fell
suddenly on his shoulder.

"This poor fellow is dotty," he said good-humouredly to the
crowd. "I found him wandering in the Cathedral. Says he came in
a flying ship. Is there a constable to spare to take care of him?"

There was a constable to spare. Two other constables attended to
the tall young man in grey; a fourth concerned himself with the
owner of the shop, who showed some tendency to be turbulent. They
took the tall young man away to a magistrate, whither we shall
follow him in an ensuing chapter. And they took the happiest man
in the world away to an asylum.



II. THE RELIGION OF THE STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE

The editorial office of _The Atheist_ had for some years past
become less and less prominently interesting as a feature of
Ludgate Hill. The paper was unsuited to the atmosphere. It showed
an interest in the Bible unknown in the district, and a knowledge
of that volume to which nobody else on Ludgate Hill could make
any conspicuous claim. It was in vain that the editor of _The
Atheist_ filled his front window with fierce and final demands as
to what Noah in the Ark did with the neck of the giraffe. It was
in vain that he asked violently, as for the last time, how the
statement "God is Spirit" could be reconciled with the statement
"The earth is His footstool." It was in vain that he cried with