happy creatures to whom the operations of the intellect are a joke--
who, if they are shown that the three angles of a triangle are equal
to two right angles, decline to disprove it, but act as if they were
but one. To Zachariah the appeal "Where will you stop?" was
generally successful. If his understanding told him he could not
stop, he went on. And yet it so often happens that if we do go on we
are dissatisfied; we cannot doubt each successive step, but we doubt
the conclusion. We arrive serenely at the end, and lo! it is an
absurdity which common sense, as we call it, demolishes with scoffs
and laughter.

They had walked down to Holborn in order to avoid the rather
dangerous quarter of Gray's Inn Lane. Presently they were overtaken
by the Secretary, staggering under more liquor. He did not recognise
them, and rolled on. The shoemaker instantly detached himself from
Zachariah and followed the drunken official. He was about to turn
into a public-house, when his friend came up to him softly,
abstracted a book which was sticking out of his pocket, laid hold of
him by the arm, and marched off with him across the street and
through Great Turnstile.

Sunday came, and Zachariah and his wife attended the services at Pike
Street Meeting-house, conducted by that worthy servant of God, the
Reverend Thomas Bradshaw. He was at that time preaching a series of
sermons on the Gospel Covenant, and he enlarged upon the distinction
between those with whom the covenant was made and those with whom
there was none, save of judgment. The poorest and the weakest, if
they were sons of God, were more blessed than the strongest who were
not. These were nothing: "they should go out like the smoke of a
candle with an ill favour; whereas the weak and simple ones are