in England, we should hear very little of English infidelity."

"That is saying a great deal," observed Lothair, inquiringly.

"Had I that command of wealth of which we hear so much in the present
day, and with which the possessors seem to know so little what to do, I
would purchase some of those squalid streets in Westminster, which are
the shame of the metropolis, and clear a great space and build a real
cathedral, where the worship of heaven should be perpetually conducted
in the full spirit of the ordinances of the Church. I believe, were
this done, even this country might be saved."



CHAPTER 16


Lothair began to meditate on two great ideas -- the reconciliation of
Christendom, and the influence of architecture on religion. If the
differences between the Roman and Anglican Churches, and between the
papacy and Protestantism generally arose, as Father Coleman assured him,
and seemed to prove, in mere misconception, reconciliation, though
difficult, did not seem impossible, and appeared to be one of the most
efficient modes of defeating the atheists. It was a result which, of
course, mainly depended on the authority of Reason; but the power of the
imagination might also be enlisted in the good cause through the
influence of the fine arts, of which the great mission is to excite, and
at the same time elevate, the feelings of the human family. Lothair
found himself frequently in a reverie over Miss Arundel's ideal fane;
and, feeling that he had the power of buying up a district in forlorn