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sympathy, wounded by outside insolence.
Stronger than steel
Is the sword of the spirit;
Swifter than arrows
The life of the truth is;
Greater than anger
Is love, and subdueth. Longfellow
The two or three days at Codrington lengthened out into a week, for
both Raeburn and Erica felt a good deal exhausted after the
eventful Monday. Raeburn, anxious to spare her as much as
possible, himself wrote to Mrs. Craigie, and told her of Erica's
change of views.
It is a great grief, he wrote, and she will be a serious loss to
our cause, but I am determined that we will not enact over again
the course of action which drove both you and me from home. Odd!
That she should just reverse our story! Anyhow, you and I, Jean,
have been too much persecuted to turn into persecutors. The child
is as much in earnest for her delusion as we for our truth.
Argument and remonstrance will do no good, and you must understand,
and make Tom understand, that I'll not have her bullied. Don't
think that I am trying to make her mistaken way all easy for her.
She won't find it easy. She will have a miserable time of it with
our own set, and how many Christians, do you imagine, will hold out
a hand to Luke Raeburn's daughter, even though her views have
changed? Maybe half a dozen! Not more, I fancy, unless she
renounced us with atheism, and that she never will do! She will be
between two fires, and I believe between the two she will be
worried to death in a year unless we can keep the peace at home.
I don't blame Osmond for this, though at first I did suspect it was
his doing; but this has been no cramwork. Erica has honestly
faced the questions herself, and has honestly arrived at this
mistaken conclusion. Osmond's kindness and generosity of course
influenced her, but for the rest they have only had the free
discussions of which from the first I approved. Years ago he said
to me plainly, 'What if she should see reasons to change her mind?'
I scouted the notion then, it seemed and still seems almost
INCREDIBLE. He has, you see, acted quite honorably. It is Erica's
own doing. I remember telling him that our name of freethinkers
was a reality, and so it shall still be! She shall be free to
think the untrue is true; she shall be free to confess herself a
Christian before the whole world, though it deal me the hardest of
blows.
This letter soon spread the news. Aunt Jean was too much vexed and
not deeply grieved enough to keep silence. Vexation finds some
relief in talking, deep grief as a rule prefers not to speak. Tom,

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