"But he's not right," said the parson, energetically. "He's
altogether wrong. I never knew one of them right in my life yet in
anything. How can they be right?"

"But I think you are mixing up road-making and Church doctrine, Mr.
Townsend."

"I hope I may never be in danger of mixing up God and the devil. You
cannot touch pitch and not be defiled. Remember that, Herbert
Fitzgerald."

"I will remember nothing of the kind," said Herbert. "Am I to set
myself up as a judge and say that this is pitch and that is pitch?
Do you remember St. Peter on the housetop? Was not he afraid of what
was unclean?"

"The meaning of that was that he was to convert the Gentiles, and
not give way to their errors. He was to contend with them and not
give way an inch till he had driven them from their idolatry." Mr.
Townsend had been specially primed by his wife that morning with
vigorous hostility against Father Barney, and was grieved to his
heart at finding that his young friend was prepared to take the
priest's part in anything. In this matter of the roads Mr. Townsend
was doubtless right, but hardly on the score of the arguments
assigned by him.

"I don't mean to say that there should be no road-making," said
Herbert, after a pause. "The general opinion seems to be that we
can't do better. I only say that we shall come to grief about it.
Those poor fellows there have as much idea of cutting down a hill as