and declined to prosecute? Your offence against him was trifling, and
easily repaired. Your chief offence was against yourself, and that was
irreparable. No other person with his forgiveness can mediate between you
and yourself. Until you have been in such a fix, you can't imagine,
perhaps, how curiously impertinent it sounds to hear talk about somebody
else forgiving you for ruining yourself. It is like mocking."

The nine o'clock bell pealed out from the mill tower.

"I am trespassing on your kindness, but I have only a few more words to
say. The ancients had a beautiful fable about the water of Lethe, in
which the soul that was bathed straightway forgot all that was sad and
evil in its previous life; the most stained, disgraced, and mournful of
souls coming forth fresh, blithe, and bright as a baby's. I suppose my
absurd misunderstanding arose from a vague notion that the blood of
Christ had in it something like this virtue of Lethe water. Just think
how blessed a thing for men it would be if such were indeed the case, if
their memories could be cleansed and disinfected at the same time their
hearts were purified! Then the most disgraced and ashamed might live good
and happy lives again. Men would be redeemed from their sins in fact, and
not merely in name. The figurative promises of the Gospel would become
literally true. But this is idle dreaming. I will not keep you," and,
checking himself abruptly, he sat down.

The moment he did so, Mr. Lewis rose and pronounced the benediction,
dismissing the meeting without the usual closing hymn. He was afraid that
something might be said by Deacon Tuttle or Deacon Miller, who were good
men, but not very subtile in their spiritual insight, which would still
further alienate the unfortunate young man. His own intention of finding
opportunity for a little private talk with him after the meeting was,