"You?" she said with bitter melancholy. "Are not you one of the
Bishop's priests?"

"I am a deacon, and Theophilus is the head of my church; but for that
very reason . . ."

"No," said Agne sharply, "I will deceive no one. My parents were Arians,
and as my beliefs are the same as theirs the Bishop has driven me away as
an outcast, finally and without pity."

"Indeed," said Eusebius. "Did the Bishop do that? Well, as the head of
a large community of Christians he, of course, is bound to look at things
in their widest aspect; small things, small people can be nothing to him.
I, on the contrary, am myself but a small personage, and I care for small
things. You know, child, that the Lord has said 'that in his Father's
kingdom there are many mansions,' and that in which Arius dwells is not
mine; but it is in the Father's kingdom nevertheless. It cannot be so
much amiss after all that you should cling to the creed of your parents.
What is your name?"

"Agne."

"Agne, or the lamb. A pretty, good name! It is a name I love, as I,
too, am a shepherd, though but a very humble one, so trust yourself to
me, little lamb. Tell me, why are you crying? And whom do you seek
here? And how is it that you do not know where to find a home?"

Eusebius spoke with such homely kindness, and his voice was so full of
fatherly sympathy that hope revived in Agne's breast, and she told him