regard to religion finally, it may be briefly said that she believed
in God in much the same way as she believed in Australia, for she had
no doubt whatever as to the existence of either, and she went to church
on Sunday in much the same spirit as she would look at a kangaroo in the
Zoological Gardens, for kangaroos come from Australia.

A low wall separated the far end of her garden from the meadow outside;
beyond that lay the stream which flowed into the Avon, and it often
seemed wonderful to her that the water which wimpled by would (unless a
cow happened to drink it) soon be stealing along past the church at
Stratford where Shakespeare lay. Peppino had written a very moving
little prose-poem about it, for she had royally presented him with the
idea, and had suggested a beautiful analogy between the earthly dew
that refreshed the grasses, and was drawn up into the fire of the Sun,
and Thought the spiritual dew that refreshed the mind and thereafter,
rather vaguely, was drawn up into the Full-Orbed Soul of the World.

At that moment Lucia's eye was attracted by an apparition on the road
which lay adjacent to the further side of the happy stream which flowed
into the Avon. There was no mistaking the identity of the stout figure
of Mrs Quantock with its short steps and its gesticulations, but why in
the name of wonder should that Christian Scientist be walking with the
draped and turbaned figure of a man with a tropical complexion and a
black beard? His robe of saffron yellow with a violently green girdle
was hitched up for ease in walking, and unless he had chocolate
coloured stockings on, Mrs Lucas saw human legs of the same shade. Next
moment that debatable point was set at rest for she caught sight of
short pink socks in red slippers. Even as she looked Mrs Quantock saw
her (for owing to Christian Science she had recaptured the quick vision
of youth) and waggled her hand and kissed it, and evidently called her