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Copyright, igoi 
 
 By John Lane 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 
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 UNIVERSITY PRESS • JOHN WILSON 
 AND SON, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 
 
Casting of Nets 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE clock oil the church tower at Abbotsbury was 
 striking six. A hot day in early July was draw- 
 ing to its close, and long shadows were beginning to creep 
 across the churcliyard, while from the meadows beyond 
 came the scent of newly-mown hay, the screaming of 
 swifts, and the querulous croaking of disturbed corn-crakes 
 driven from their nests by the ruthless scythes of the 
 haymakers. 
 
 The Rev. James Russell, Rector of Abbotsbury, passed 
 through the lych-gate into the churchyard, removing his 
 black felt hat and wiping his brow with a silk pocket- 
 handkerchief as he paused in the refreshing shade of the 
 elm-trees. 
 
 He had been visiting a sick woman who lived in a 
 farm on the outskirts of his straggling parish, and the 
 sun had blazed fiercely in his face during his three-mile 
 walk homewards. 
 
 Mr. Russell looked across the meadows which sloped 
 down from beyond the sunken fence of the churchyard 
 to the river Trent stealing quietly through the valley 
 some half a mile away. The evening breeze rippled and 
 shivered through the patches of grass as yet uncut, and 
 the Rector lingered for a space, enjoying the quiet pas- 
 
 1 
 
 434871 
 
2 •. :;C-AST;I:NGr,. O'F NETS 
 
 toral beauty of the scene, and glancing, too, with a cer- 
 tain satisfaction at the heavy crop of hay, a considerable 
 portion of which was on his own glebe-land. 
 
 Suddenly the look of tranquil content upon his features 
 changed, to be replaced by one of impatience, almost of 
 annoyance. 
 
 From a mass of gray buildings beyond the river, just 
 discernible among the trees surrounding it, the deep tone 
 of a single bell floated up with the breeze. 
 
 One — two — three; one — two — three; one — two — 
 three ; and then a longer pause, and nine strokes, repeated 
 at equal intervals. 
 
 The Rector of Abbotsbury listened, and his face wore 
 the expression of one who wakes from a pleasant dream 
 to find himself confronted by an unpleasant reality. 
 
 * The AngeluSj he said to himself, lialf aloud ; and then 
 he turned and continued his walk through the church- 
 yard, and passed through a little gate which led into the 
 Rectory garden. The Rectory at Abbotsbury was a pleas- 
 ant abode enough. The house, indeed, more resembled 
 the residence of a country squire than that of a clergyman. 
 The solid, square building stood above a terraced garden 
 looking over the Valley of the Trent and across a rich 
 agricultural country to the heather-clad ridge of Cannock 
 Chase on the opposite horizon. The interior of the house 
 was entirely oak-panelled, the rooms spacious and well 
 furnished. Everything at Abbotsbury Rectory bore silent 
 but unmistakable testimony to the fact of Abbotsbury 
 being a good, solid family living, which had been enjoyed 
 by respectable younger sons for many generations. Be- 
 hind the house and garden rose groups of noble trees. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 3 
 
 with here and there a venerable oak standing majestically 
 apart from its fellows. Beneath spreading branches, still 
 green with the midsummer shoots, could be caught glimpses 
 of undulating park-land, where shorthorns and Alderncys 
 were feeding knee-deep in the luxuriant herbage, and be- 
 yond were great woods stretching away as far as the eye 
 could see. 
 
 Abbotsbury possessed the evident stamp of being the 
 ancient abode of au ancient family, and the Rectory, which 
 lay just beyond the grounds surrounding the big house, was, 
 as it were, an inseparable part of the Abbotsbury domain. 
 
 The Redmans of Abbotsbury had lived on their own 
 lands since Saxon times, and when Sir Walter Redman 
 accepted a peerage from George III. in the early years 
 of that monarch's reign, and became known by the style 
 and title of Baron Redman, of Redman's Cross, in the 
 county of Stafford, the general impression in Staffordshire 
 was that he conferred a favour on his Sovereign and his 
 country by condescending to enter the Upper House. 
 Redman's Cross, which gave the family its title, was the 
 original dwelling-place of the race, the Redman of the 
 day having somewhere far back in the fourteenth century 
 married the heiress of Abbotsbury, after which they moved 
 their residence to the latter place. Redman's Cross fell in- 
 to ruin in the midst of the wild chase surrounding it, where 
 herds of deer wandered at will through its forest glades 
 and among the mighty oak-trees for which it had been 
 famous even in Norman times. The present Rector of 
 Abbotsbury was the first for many years to hold that 
 office who was not a Redman by birth. From time im- 
 memorial the charge of souls at Abbotsbury had been 
 
4 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 committed to a younger son of the great house, and 
 when the Rev. James Russell was appointed to the liv- 
 ing on the death of the old Rector, the villagers, who had 
 been accustomed for generations to be christened, married, 
 and buried by a Redman, had been inclined to resent Mr. 
 Russell's ministration as an impertinent intrusion of a 
 stranger into their domestic affairs. 
 
 There had been no Redman, however, to succeed to 
 the Honourable and Reverend Richard, the late Lord 
 Redman's brother, who had held the living for nearly 
 forty years, when he died from a chill caught while fish- 
 ing for grayling on a treacherous day of mid- winter; so 
 his nephew, the present peer, had bestowed it upon James 
 Russell, his second cousin by marriage. 
 
 The latter was eminently fitted, so far as presence and 
 natural taste were concerned, to live in the stately, oak- 
 panelled Rectory-house, which bore about it the atmos- 
 phere of the old-fashioned Tory and High-Church principles 
 of the early part of the nineteenth century. As he walked 
 across the lawn from the churchyard gate, and slowly 
 ascended the broad flight of gray stone steps flanked by 
 vases of scarlet geranium and blue lobelia which led to 
 the terrace above, Mr. Russell presented a typical example 
 of a well-bred and well-educated English clergyman. 
 
 He was about to enter his own study by the large bay- 
 window which opened on to the garden, when his wife 
 called to him from beneath the trees at the further end 
 of the terrace. 
 
 'James,' she cried, Hea is out here. How late you 
 are! I will send for some fresh tea for you.' 
 
 The Rector turned, and went to where a tea-table and 
 
CASTING OF NETS 5 
 
 sonic gardcu-chairs were placed bcucath an old chestnut- 
 tree. 
 
 * Yes, I am late/ he replied, taking one of the chairs 
 and drawing it nearer the table. ' Mrs. Clutterbuck is 
 very bad ; she won't last out the night, I think. 1 have 
 been with her all the afternoon.' 
 
 * Poor thing ! ' said Mrs. Kussell, looking critically at 
 the tea she was pouring out. ' No, James ; this tea is 
 much too strong. You know strong tea always gives 
 you indigestion. I will go and ring for George to bring 
 some more.' 
 
 ' Do,' replied the Vicar ; ' it was very hot walking back 
 from Clutterbuck's farm. A cup of tea is just what I 
 want. Ah! here are the papers. Let us see what the 
 Times says.' 
 
 He opened the newspaper as his wife disappeared into 
 the house, and settled himself down to glance over its 
 contents. 
 
 Presently he gave an exclamation of astonishment and 
 dismay. A short paragraph of two or three lines among 
 the personal intelligence in the Times had caught his 
 eye. 
 
 ^ xi marriage ^vill shortly take place between Lord Red- 
 man and Hilda, daughter of Lady Gwendolen and the late 
 Mr. Ca warden, of Cawarden.' 
 
 ' Mary ' — Mr. Russell called out excitedly to his wife 
 — ' Mary, never mind the tea ; come here at once ! What 
 do you think has happened? ' 
 
 Mrs. Russell heard him from the drawing-room window, 
 where she was giving directions to the butler, and came 
 leisurely along the terrace. 
 
6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * What do you think has happened ? ' he repeated, as 
 she apj)roachcd him. 
 
 * I don't know. ^ What ? Another ritual scandal ? ' she 
 
 asked. 
 
 ' Worse than that/ replied tlie Rector — * a great deal 
 worse than that. Read that announcement/ he added, 
 handing her the newspaper. 
 
 Mrs. Russell's face assumed a look of lively interest as 
 she read the paragraph. 
 
 ' I don't know what you mean, James,' she said, after 
 a pause ; ^ I should think it was an excellent thing. Red- 
 man ought to have married a long time ago.' 
 
 ' An excellent thing ! ' exclaimed her husband ; * it is 
 a terrible thing — a — an abominable thing ! ' 
 
 ^ Why ? Is Miss Cawarden not — not a nice person ? 
 It is a good name. I have often heard of the Ca wardens 
 of Cawarden.' 
 
 ' It is a good name enough,' said Mr. Russell irritably 
 — *as good as Redman, if it comes to that — but the 
 Cawardens are Roman Catholics.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell looked genuinely shocked. 
 
 'Romanists!' she exclaimed. ' Oh, James, no wonder 
 you said it was a terrible thing ! It should be stopped,' 
 she continued. ' Can't it be stopped, James ? ' 
 
 ' My dear Mary,' the Rector replied, ' Redman is old 
 enough to know his own mind, and nobody has any right 
 to interfere. They are everywhere,' he added, a little 
 irrelevantly ; and he looked beyond the churchyard to 
 the spot in the valley where the Angelus had rung a 
 short time before. 
 
 'What can have induced him to do it?' said Mrs. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 7 
 
 Russell. * Poor dear Walter ! ' she eontinued, with a 
 little sigh, * this is what comes of having no religi(jn. 
 If he had only been a good Churchman, he could never 
 have done such a thing. But I don't think he believes 
 in anything. One good thing is, that he is all the less 
 likely to be perverted by his wife.' 
 
 The Rector looked anmsed for a moment. Of the two 
 Mrs. Russell was the stauncher Protestant. 
 
 * I don't know that we ought to call it perversion if she 
 makes him a believer in something,' he said mildly. 
 
 ^ Think of Abbotsbury falling into the hands of Roman- 
 ists ! Of course it is very sad that Walter should be so 
 indifferent to religion, but you surely would n't wish him 
 to become a pervert to Rome, James ? ' 
 
 ^ Abbotsbury will probably fall into the hands of Roman 
 Catholics whether he does or not,' remarked Mr. Russell. 
 * He will have to consent to his children being brought up 
 in his wife's religion, otherwise the Roman Church will 
 not allow the marriao:e.' 
 
 * It is perfectly monstrous I ' exclaimed his wife ; * they 
 treat us as if we were heathens.' 
 
 'It is the inflexible spirit of Roman Catholicism,' re- 
 turned the Rector. 'After all,' he added, with a sigh, 
 'their attitude is logical — more so, perhaps, than our 
 own.' 
 
 ' Arrogance, I call it, not logic' 
 
 Mr. Russell shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 ' I think it is logical/ he replied. ' At all events, they 
 stick to their position, which is more than we are able 
 to do to ours.' 
 
 'It will be a very unpleasant situation for us,' said 
 
8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Mrs. Russell. 1 suppose that Lady Redman will ig- 
 nore us.' 
 
 ' She can scarcely do that, my dear.' 
 
 *0h, I don't mean socially, of course; but she will 
 ignore your position as Rector of Abbotsbury. It is enough 
 to have that monastery in the parish, but now that there 
 
 is to be a Romanist reigning at the Hall ' and the 
 
 Rector's wife paused expressively. 
 
 ^ Perhaps,' remarked her husband, ' Miss Cawarden may 
 be a tolerant person. She can't help having been born a 
 Roman Catholic. Indeed, having been born one, she is 
 far more likely to be broad-minded than if she were a 
 con — a pervert.* 
 
 ^ She will want to turn her husband,' said Mrs. Russell, 
 ^ and she will not be pleased at finding an Anglican priest 
 at her very door. Mark my words, James, it will be a 
 very disagreeable position for us.' 
 
 A servant brought some fresh tea, and the Rector 
 poured himself out a cup of it. 
 
 ' You could n't blame her for wanting her husband to 
 belong to her faith,' he said presently. 
 
 ^N—no,' answered Mrs. Russell doubtfully; 'I sup- 
 pose not. But it would be much better if Walter con- 
 verted her to his own ' 
 
 ' But if he has none ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, you know what I mean, James,' said Mrs. Russell 
 a little impatiently. ' Walter is nominally a member of 
 the Church of England, and of course his wife should be 
 so too. Who knows ? ' she added hopefully. ' Perhaps 
 she will become one.' 
 
 The Rector shook his head. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 9 
 
 ' Very few people leave Rome for Canterbury and Down- 
 ing Street — women especially,' he remarked. 'Besides, 
 who is to convert her ? Not her husband, certainly.' 
 
 * You ! ' said Mrs. Russell triumphantly. 
 
 ^ ? My dear Mary ! ' 
 
 'Certainly. You are the priest of her future hus- 
 band's parish, where she will be in the position of a 
 dissenter.' 
 
 ' There are a good many of them in my parish,' muttered 
 Mr. Russell, thinking of the Dominican Fathers and their 
 monastery in the valley near by. 
 
 ' It does n't say when the marriage is going to be,' said 
 Mrs. Russell, glancing again at the Times. 
 
 ' It will be very soon, I should imagine. We are only 
 at the beginning of July. Probably they will be married 
 at the end of the London season, and we shall have them 
 here in the autumn, after the honeymoon.' 
 
 ' And then,' said Mrs. Russell, ' you will have to begin 
 to prepare the ground for the conversion.' 
 
 The Rector of Abbotsbury made no reply, but took up 
 the newspaper. The news of Lord Redman's engagement 
 to a Roman Catholic had disturbed him more than he 
 cared to admit, and for the moment he did not wish to 
 discuss the subject any further, least of all with his wife. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 ' "m ^ Y dear Lady Gwendolen, let me assure you that I 
 W\ am making absolutely no sacrifice in accepting 
 tlie conditions imposed by your Church with regard to my 
 marriage with Hilda. I quite understand that many men 
 — most men, perhaps, in my position — would feel differ- 
 ently upon the subject. To me it is a matter of complete 
 unconcern.' 
 
 The speaker was Lord Redman, and the three people 
 who listened to his words tried to look shocked. 
 
 ' You are at least candid in your opinions. Lord Red- 
 man,' said one of the three, an elderly man with iron-gray 
 hair, who might have passed for a retired cavalry officer 
 had it not been for his priestly attire. 
 
 He spoke in a harsh and curiously abrupt voice, and his 
 keen, dark eyes looked searchingly at Lord Redman as he 
 made the remark. 
 
 The latter returned his gaze tranquilly, almost indiffer- 
 ently. 
 
 'Do you think so, Mr. Galsworthy?' he replied. 'I 
 am afraid that you are wrong there. I have no opinions, 
 as you would call them, or prejudices, as I should call them, 
 on matters concerning the religious belief of others.' 
 
 'But you have your personal opinions — or prejudices?' 
 
 ' Possibly ; but they are purely negative.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS ii 
 
 ' That is a very uiiliappy state of mind to be in,' said the 
 priest gravely. 
 
 as it ? ' 
 
 Father Galsworthy looked disconcerted for a moment, 
 and then he laughed. 
 
 ^ I am afraid that you are the most dangerous kind of 
 Protestant/ he replied. 
 
 ^ Because I do not protest ? ' 
 
 ^ Precisely.' 
 
 At this moment Lady Gwendolen Cawarden's mother, 
 Lady Merton, interposed. 
 
 Lady Merton bore the traces of considerable beauty, and 
 looked many years younger than her age. She had joined 
 the Roman Church late in life, and had acquired for her- 
 self an almost unique position among her co-religionists in 
 England. The number of converts she had brought into 
 the Church, and through the Church into Catholic society, 
 was very large, for experience taught her that if crowns 
 were eagerly sought after in the next state of life, coronets 
 were not less so in this. So Lady Merton, girded with 
 piety and her peerage, had been a more than usually suc- 
 cessful proselytizer, and considered that she had been the 
 means of launching many of her fellow-creatures into the 
 good society of both this world and the world to come. 
 Of all her children, the youngest, Lady Gwendolen Ca- 
 warden, was the only one who followed their mother to 
 Rome. The others had been more or less grown up when 
 Lady Merton became a convert to Catholicism, and had 
 declined to be convinced by her arguments. 
 
 ' I am sure,' said Lady Merton, looking at her daughter, 
 'that dear Hilda's example will cause her husband's 
 
12 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 tlioughts to turn towards the Church. I do not agree 
 with Father Galsworthy. An unprejudiced mind like 
 Lord Redman's is far more likely to receive the truth than 
 one which has to rid itself of Protestant falsehood con- 
 cerning our holy religion. I speak from personal experi- 
 ence, you know,' she added, with a little sigh, turning to 
 her future grandson-in-law ; * for I had many mental 
 struggles to pass through before grace to see the light was 
 vouchsafed to me.' 
 
 Lady Merton's voice was soft and purring, and she 
 prided herself upon being able to throw the most persua- 
 sive tones into it when necessary. Lord Redman listened 
 politely, but he made no reply, and Lady Gwendolen, who 
 had maintained a discreet silence during the conversa- 
 tion, looked at her spiritual adviser. Father Galsworthy, 
 as though expecting him to conclude the matter under 
 discussion. 
 
 The latter nodded his head appreciatively as Lady Mer- 
 ton finished speaking. 
 
 ' No doubt Lady Merton is perfectly right,' he remarked. 
 'As she says, she has an experience which is denied to 
 those who, like myself, have been born within the fold of 
 the Church. It is an experience, moreover, of which, as 
 we all know, she has made the best use.' 
 
 If she had been a cat Lady Merton would have rubbed 
 herself against the ecclesiastical legs ; as it was, she only 
 purred a modest disclaimer. 
 
 'I do not think,' continued Father Galsworthy, 'that 
 there is any more to be said. Lord Redman appears to be 
 fully aware of the conditions which the Church imposes 
 in the case of what is termed a mixed marriage. No 
 
CASTING OF NETS 13 
 
 other religious ceremony save that of the Roman Church 
 is permissible ; and Lord Redman must give his solemn 
 undertaking that any children born of his marriage shall 
 be brought up in the Holy Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman 
 religion. I understand that he is prepared to accept these 
 conditions unreservedly, and also to promise that Miss 
 Cawarden, after she has become his wife, shall have full 
 liberty to exercise and practise her religion as her con- 
 science and the precepts of the Church shall demand.' 
 
 Lord Redman bowed. 
 
 ' I have already said,' he replied, ' that these matters 
 are comparatively unimportant to me. I respect all re- 
 ligions, and that of my wife would have the first claim to 
 my respect. I hope, Mr. Galsworthy, that I have made 
 my meaning clear ? " 
 
 The Oratorian looked at him. 
 
 * Yes,' he said in his abrupt manner, ' I think you have. 
 But you must pardon me if I say that I would rather you 
 did not shelter yourself behind indifference.' 
 
 ^ It is a very good shield,' said Lord Redman, with a 
 slight smile. 
 
 ' I admit it — so long as you feel you need a sliield. 
 It is the hardest of all to penetrate. But supposing 
 the day should come, after you had been married some 
 time, when you felt that you no longer needed such 
 a shield — when your indifference broke down, so to 
 speak ' 
 
 ' Yes ? ' said Lord Redman interrogatively. 
 
 ' The promises which appear to you to be so easy to 
 give in your present frame of mind might not be so easy 
 to fulfil,' continued Father Galsworthy. 
 
14 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Lady Merton intervened once more. 
 
 * Dear Father Galsworthy,' she said gently, ^ I do not 
 wish to interfere with your objections, but do you not 
 think that we are taking too much upon ourselves in thus 
 striving to look into the future ? Lord Redman's scepti- 
 cism may vanish — that is perfectly true. But may it 
 not be that it shall vanish in answer to our prayers for 
 his enlightenment ? St. Joseph ' 
 
 *Was a carpenter,' interposed Lord Redman, smiling. 
 ' I do not think we need bring him into the question,' he 
 added, holding out his hand to Lady Gwendolen. ' Mr. 
 Galsworthy will, no doubt, report to the proper quarters 
 that I am prepared unreservedly to accept the conditions 
 imposed by the Church. I only ask for myself the same 
 liberty of conscience which I engage to give to my future 
 wife. To-morrow morning, then, I will come for Hilda,' 
 he added, shaking hands with the remainder of the little 
 party assembled in the drawing-room of the Cawardens' 
 house in Eaton Square ; * we are going to do some shop- 
 ping together.' 
 
 ' And you will come back to luncheon ? ' said Lady 
 Gwendolen. 
 
 ' Thanks, yes. To-morrow, then, at eleven o'clock. 
 Will you tell Hilda ? ' and so saying. Lord Redman left 
 the room. 
 
 Father Galsworthy took his departure a few minutes 
 afterwards, leaving Lady Gwendolen and her mother alone 
 together. 
 
 ^ A very holy man, Gwen dear,' said Lady Merton when 
 the drawing-room door had closed upon the priest, ^ but 
 not a man of the world.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 15 
 
 ' Who — Father Galsworthy ? ' 
 
 * Certainly. I was not alluding to Redman. I was on 
 thorns lest he should spoil the whole thing. Anybody 
 could have seen that Redman was getting very impatient ; 
 he wouldn't have taken me up about St. Joseph if he 
 was n't.' 
 
 ' He only said that St. Joseph was a carpenter,' observed 
 Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 ' Very true,' replied Lady Merton — ' so he was ; but 
 it is not good taste to allude to the fact. That young 
 man can say some very satirical things sometimes,' she 
 added. ' I do hope poor dear Hilda will be happy with 
 him.' 
 
 'You should have thought of that before, mamma/ 
 remarked her daughter. ' The marriage has been more 
 of your making than of mine. I confess that I am full of 
 uneasiness at the thought of Hilda marrying a Protestant.* 
 
 Lady Merton gave her a little sidelong glance. 
 
 ' Tliey are very fond of one another,* she said. ' For 
 all we know, Hilda may be the chosen instrument to 
 bring Redman into the Church. It would have been most 
 rash to place any obstacles in the way of the marriage. 
 Think, Gwen, what an acquisition Redman would be to 
 the Faith in England I A peer, and rich — a man, too, 
 who has generally been considered almost an agnostic — 
 why, his conversion would be followed by hundreds of 
 others in the country. And then the joy it would be to 
 us all to think that Hilda had been the means of saving 
 his soul ! * concluded Lady Merton, drawing the beads of 
 a little ebony and gold rosary, which hung at her waist, 
 through her hands as she spoke. ' Oh no, my dear Gwen,* 
 
i6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 she continued, ' I do not think you need be uneasy. If 
 Redman had pronounced Protestant convictions, I quite 
 grant you that it might be different ; but he has n't. His 
 mind is virgin soil, my dear — virgin soil,' repeated Lady 
 Merton, who, as an authoress of pious works, dearly loved 
 
 a simile. 
 
 ' I am not thinking of his mind,' returned Lady Gwen- 
 dolen Cawarden ; ' I am thinking of Hilda's. She is so 
 young and inexperienced, and has never been brought into 
 contact even with Protestants, let alone agnostics.' 
 
 * But she knows that Redman does n't believe in any- 
 thing ! ' said Lady Merton. 
 
 ' She knows it from me and from Father Galsworthy.* 
 
 * Not from Redman ? ' 
 
 ^ I asked her if he ever talked upon those subjects to 
 her. It appears that, after he had asked her to marry 
 him, he once told her he had no faith himself, but that 
 he should never say or do anything to interfere with hers.' 
 
 ' So he told me,' observed Lady Merton. ' I thought it 
 very sensible of him.' 
 
 ' Mamma ! * 
 
 ' Certainly, Gwen. If Hilda is to marry a heretic, she 
 may as well marry an out and out one. There is nothing 
 so unsatisfactory as a Protestant ! ' 
 
 ^ She need n't have married a heretic at all,' objected 
 Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 ' No ; she might have married one of our Catholic young 
 men. They are excellent creatures — from the next world's 
 point of view ; and we are all delighted when our friends' 
 daughters marry them.' 
 
 ' I married one.* 
 
CASTING OF NETS 17 
 
 ^ My dear, you married an exception. Poor dear Uoger 
 was a parti as well as a Catholic. We cannot live on 
 "Hail Marys," unfortunately. That is what priests like 
 P'ather Galsworthy do not understand. Hilda is an ex- 
 tremely lucky person. She is marrying a rich man, with 
 a fine place, an old name, and no objections. I really 
 can't imagine what you and Father Galsworthy are afraid 
 of.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen was silent. She had always been 
 a little frightened at her mother, and her own marriage 
 had not been what she herself would have chosen. 
 Before she married Roger Cawardcn she had been very 
 much in love with a man who, as Lady Merton put it, 
 could never have supplied her with anything more sub- 
 stantial than 'Hail Marys.' Then Mr. Cawardcn had 
 come forward, and Lady Merton had taken the matter 
 into her own hands. It had all turned out very well, and 
 in after life, when left a widow with a good jointure. Lady 
 Gwendolen was obliged to confess that her mother had 
 acted in a very sensible manner. 
 
 Lady Gwendolen, however, was a sincerely earnest 
 Catholic, and the thought that her daughter was about 
 to make a mixed marriage was a matter which caused her 
 genuine uneasiness. 
 
 She felt the force of Father Galswortliy's objection, 
 which her mother had feared might have the effect of 
 making Lord Redman think that too many concessions 
 were going to be demanded of him ; and, indeed, when 
 she reminded Lady Merton that the engagement had been 
 largely due to the latter, Lady Gwendolen had only spoken 
 the truth. 
 
 2 
 
i8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Lady Merton, as a matter of fact, had done all in her 
 power to bring about an alliance between her grand- 
 daughter and Lord Redman, and it was at her house in 
 the country that the two had first met. 
 
 It had not been an easy marriage to arrange, notwith- 
 standing that Hilda Cawarden and Lord Redman had 
 fallen very satisfactorily in love with each other, and that 
 Lord Redman was honestly indifferent as to what Hilda's 
 creed might be. Lady Gwendolen would not hear of her 
 daughter marrying a Protestant. No Cawarden of Ca- 
 warden had ever done such a thing. At one time it had 
 looked very much as if the marriage was an impossibility, 
 and had it not been that the young couple were sincerely 
 attached to each other, the influence brought to bear 
 upon Miss Cawarden would probably have been strong 
 enough to cause a rupture between them. It was at this 
 juncture that Lady Merton's pious reputation in the 
 Catholic world enabled her to overcome the opposition to 
 a marriage of which her worldly instincts thoroughly ap- 
 proved ; and Lord Redman, considerably to his surprise, 
 found a most energetic ally where he had expected to find 
 a determined opponent. 
 
 To her lay and ecclesiastical friends Lady Merton 
 described Lord Redman as a rudderless ship driven to 
 and fro on a stormy sea. The simile was by no means 
 a new one, and she had herself applied it indiscriminately 
 in her writings to the Church of England, the Old 
 Catholics, and United Italy. In this instance Hilda 
 Cawarden was the obvious rudder by means of which 
 Lord Redman's drifting spiritual barque was to be guided 
 into port. It had cost her no little trouble to make her 
 
CASTING OF NETS 19 
 
 daughter see the matter in the same light ; and Lady 
 Gwendolen had said, with some directness, that slie didn't 
 care whetlier Lord Redman drifted into port or not. 
 
 Lady Merton had expressed herself to some of her 
 particular friends among the higher clergy as very much 
 shocked at this deliberate casting away of an opportunity 
 to save a perishing soul, and most of them agreed with 
 her. 
 
 She had found an opponent, however, in Father Gals- 
 worthy, whom Lady Gwendolen was in the habit of con- 
 sulting on spiritual matters. The Oratorian was from the 
 first absolutely opposed to the projected marriage, and 
 he used all his influence with Lady Gwendolen to make 
 her oppose it also. Lady Merton, however, had found 
 means, if not to gain his approval, at least to silence his 
 objections. She intended that Hilda should be Lady 
 Redman, and she was a woman w^ho had generally suc- 
 ceeded in having her own w^ay. When she became aware 
 that Father Galsworthy's influence was encouraging Lady 
 Gwendolen in her opposition to Hilda's engagement, she 
 betook herself to his ecclesiastical superiors. Whether 
 Lord Redman \vould have been altogether pleased at the 
 picture w^hich she drew of him to the latter was by no means 
 certain. According to Lady Merton, he was a weary and 
 dissatisfied soul, knocking at the door of the Church and 
 only needing a little encouragement to enter in and rest. 
 She had told Hilda the same thing so often that the 
 girl believed her, and love added a fresh strength to her 
 determination to be the means of opening the doors of 
 belief to her lover. The end of it had been that Father 
 Galsworthy received a hint, from a quarter which he dared 
 
20 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 not ignore, to allow matters to take their natural course 
 and to do nothing either to promote or impede Miss 
 Cawarden's marriage. He was given to understand that 
 Lord Redman had declared his readiness to accept the 
 terms imposed by the Church in England in the case of 
 the marriage of a Catholic with a person beyond its pale, 
 and that, therefore, no more was to be said. 
 
 That afternoon in Eaton Square Lord Redman had 
 been asked by Lady Gwendolen finally to promise, in the 
 presence of Father Galsworthy, that he would never 
 in any way interfere with her daughter's faith ; that no 
 other religious ceremony save that of her Church should 
 be performed at the marriage ; and that all the children 
 which might be born to them should be brought up 
 Catholics. 
 
 Lord Redman, as he had said himself, had found no 
 difficulty in promising each and all of these things, and 
 two or three days afterwards appeared the paragraph in 
 the newspapers which had so greatly exercised the minds 
 of the Rector of Abbotsbury and his wife. 
 
 ' I have always turned out right in these matters,' said 
 Lady Merton complacently, as she saw that her daughter 
 was not convinced. ^ Redman will come into the Church 
 in time,' she continued ; ' but even if he does n't, think 
 what we shall have gained. Abbotsbury will be another 
 great Catholic house in the country, and who knows 
 how many souls may be saved in future days by its 
 influence. It would have been a terrible responsibility to 
 incur, Gwen, to have disallowed this marriage, and I 
 think Father Galsworthy must be blind not to see it. 
 But then, priests cannot be expected to understand our 
 
CASTING OF NETS 21 
 
 world, you know. May I have the carriage, dear? 1 am 
 going to Benediction at Farm Street. Do you know 
 what I have done? Now that thuigs are ha{)i)ily Hcttled 
 I will tell you. I have written to Home, to dear Mon- 
 signor Chester, and asked him to get permission to say 
 Mass in the crypt of St. Peter's, and to offer it for Red- 
 man's conversion.' And Lady Merton rustled gracefully 
 out of the room, her rosary and little gold crucifix clink- 
 ing as she moved, and went to dress for her drive to 
 Farm Street. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 AS Mr. Russell had foreseen, Lord and Lady Redman 
 came to Abbotsbury early in September, when the 
 first breath of autumn was touching the fields and the 
 hedgerows, and the bryony berries were beginning to 
 redden, while the roses and the honeysuckle in the cottage 
 gardens had given place to the more gorgeous colouring 
 of hollyhocks and gladioli, and scarlet groups of ' red-hot 
 poker.' 
 
 Lord and Lady Redman's home-coming had been a very 
 simple affair. Indeed, they had arrived late in the even- 
 ing at Abbotsbury, and the demonstrations of welcome to 
 the bride had been confined to the ringing cheers of a 
 group of villagers and tenants as the carriage passed into 
 the park gates. Lord Redman was a considerate and 
 popular landlord, and the Abbotsbury people were glad to 
 feel that he was bringing a wife among them, for they and 
 theirs for many generations had been born, and lived, and 
 died on the Redman property. 
 
 There had been, it must be confessed, a feeling almost 
 akin to dismay when it became known that Lord Redman 
 was marrying a Roman Catholic. Abbotsbury and Rome 
 had not had much opportunity of studying each other, for 
 very few of the Abbotsbury folk had ever penetrated 
 beyond the high stone wall surrounding the domain of the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 23 
 
 Doniiiiicaii inonastery, wliicli, once the residence of an old 
 StafFordsbirc family, had been bought by the Order some 
 ten years previously. Occasionally some of them would 
 go out of curiosity to a service in the monastery church on 
 a Sunday afternoon in summer, but they returned home 
 more perplexed than impressed by what they had seen and 
 heard there. 
 
 If the monastic establishment at iVbbotsbridge, as the 
 spot was called where the Dominican Fathers had settled 
 themselves, was something of a mystery to the inhabitants 
 of the neighbouring village of Abbotsbury, at least the 
 latter bore no ill-feeling towards its inmates. In wliatever 
 way the monks might occupy themselves, they did not 
 interfere with the affairs of others. The monastery gave a 
 certain amount of employment, agricultural and otherwise, 
 to the labourers and tradespeople of the district, and paid 
 punctually and liberally. In other ways, save for hearing 
 the bells of the church, the Abbotsbury people knew very 
 little about them. 
 
 It was a different thing, however, to feel that the mis- 
 tress of Abbotsbury was a Roman Catholic, and people 
 began to wonder whether Lord Redman's wife would be 
 like the black-and-white-robed monks by the river-side, 
 and live in a mysterious seclusion. Mr. Russell and his 
 wife had received many interrogations on the subject, but, 
 though they looked forward to the bride's advent with no 
 little uneasiness and dislike, they had been too loyal to 
 Lord Redman to say anything which could prejudice his 
 dependents against the woman he had married. As Mr. 
 Russell said, the thing was done, and it was no use mak- 
 ing matters more unpleasant than they need be. All that 
 
24 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 could be hoped was that Lady Redman was not a bigot, 
 and would not try to proselytize in Abbotsbury, or under- 
 mine the legitimate influence of the Rectory and the parish 
 church. 
 
 The morning after the arrival of the Redmans Mr. Rus- 
 sell was writing letters in his study, and his wife was 
 sitting with him, when a servant announced that his lord- 
 ship and Lady Redman were in the drawing-room. 
 
 The Russells looked at each other. 
 
 * That is very nice of him, bringing her to see us at once/ 
 said the Rector. 
 
 ^ James/ said Mrs. Russell nervously, ' I wonder what 
 she will be like. I 'm sure I shan't know what to talk to 
 her about.' 
 
 ^ Never mind ; let us go in and get it over ; ' and they 
 went to the drawing-room together. 
 
 ^ How are you, Mary ? ' said Lord Redman, coming for- 
 ward to meet them. ' We have paid you an early visit ; 
 but I wanted you and Russell to be the first people at 
 Abbotsbury to know my wife, your new cousin. Hilda, I 
 don't think I need introduce you formally ? ' 
 
 Lady Redman shook hands with them. 
 
 ' No, indeed ! ' she said, smiling. * I hope we have n't 
 disturbed you by coming at this informal hour,' she added ; 
 ' but, you see, we were determined that our first visit 
 should be to the Rectory. What a delightful place, and 
 wliat a garden ! How happy you must be here ! ' 
 
 Lady Redman was so perfectly natural and at her ease, 
 that Mrs. Russell's nervousness vanished at once. 
 
 * We have grown very fond of it,' she answered ; and 
 then she looked at her cousin's wife, and found that she 
 
CASTING OF NETS 25 
 
 was quite a different person in appearance and manners 
 from all that she had imagined she would be. 
 
 Hilda Redman seemed to be the personification of care- 
 less youth and happiness. Mrs. Russell saw a pretty, 
 smiling face looking at her from under the broad brim of 
 a Gainsborough hat, and surrounded by a wealth of curl- 
 ing auburn hair ; a tall, well-modelled figure, which with 
 years would become stately ; a general, indefinable look 
 of high-breeding and the natural simplicity which nearly 
 always accompanies it. 
 
 * You are pleased with your first impressions of Abbots- 
 bury, I hope, Lady Redman ? * said the Rector. 
 
 * More than pleased — enchanted,' replied Hilda. * It 
 is a beautiful old place. Walter is going to take me 
 everywhere. We are going to visit every house and cot- 
 tage on the property. I shan't feel at home until I have 
 made acquaintance with all his people. Do you think 
 they will be kind to me ? ' she added half appealingly. 
 
 * Kind to you ! ' echoed Mr. Russell. ' I am sure you 
 will be kind to them, which is far more to the purpose.' 
 
 'The kindness must be mutual to be satisfactory,' said 
 Lady Redman, with a little laugh. 'I don't mean soup 
 and jellies on one side, and curtsies and thanks on 
 the other. I want to know the people and to make 
 them feel that they know me,' she added, with a little 
 emphasis. 
 
 'That will not be difficult,' said the Rector. 'Our 
 Abbotsbury folk are a little behind the times, perhaps, but 
 they are very approachable, especially for anybody who 
 bears the name of Redman. You will find an almost 
 feudal feeling remaining about here for your husband's 
 
i6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 family. There are farmers and labourers whose families 
 have been on the estate for centuries.' 
 
 ^Can we look into the church, Russell?' asked Lord 
 Redman. ^ Hilda would like to see it.' 
 
 Mr. Russell looked a little surprised. 
 
 ^ Of course ! ' he replied. ^ Abbotsbury Church is al- 
 ways open. Mary and I will show Lady Redman the 
 garden on our way there.' 
 
 They went out through the drawing-room window on 
 to the terrace, and Hilda lingered, admiring the old- 
 fashioned garden, with its sweet-scented flowers and 
 herbaceous borders, and the view over the Trent Valley 
 to the high ground of Cannock Chase. 
 
 ^ There,' said the Rector, pointing to the monastery 
 buildings in the distance, *is Abbotsbridge. It will be 
 your nearest church, Lady Redman — only a mile and a 
 half from here.' 
 
 ^ Within the three-mile limit, Hilda,' said her husband, 
 laughing ; ' so you can't get out of going.' 
 
 'The three-mile limit?' asked Mrs. Russell vaguely. 
 'What do you mean, Walter?' 
 
 ^ If there is a church within three miles of her, Hilda 
 is obliged to go there on Sundays and holy days,' ex- 
 plained Lord Redman. 
 
 Mrs. Russell felt inclined to remark that there was a 
 church within a hundred yards of Abbotsbury, but, catch- 
 ing her husband's eye, she refrained. 
 
 Abbotsbury Church was a very ancient building, and 
 among the arches of the nave were two or three remain- 
 ing of Saxon architecture, which the Rector pointed out 
 to Hilda with pardonable pride. The chancel, however. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 27 
 
 was the most interesting part of the edifice. As in 
 several cliurches in StafFordshire, it was considerably 
 below the level of the nave, so that the conerreL'ation 
 looked down upon the altar. The tombs of dead and 
 gone Redmans surrounded it on all sides. Recumbent 
 effigies of knightly Crusaders in armour, with their dames 
 by their sides, lay gazing up to the vaulted roof, their 
 feet crossed on their couchant hound, and their marble 
 hands, yellow with time, joined in an attitude of prayer. 
 Here and there, above one of the ^Yarriors, hung a rusty 
 helmet or dinted casque, or a pair of mailed gauntlets, 
 to which the leather still hung in mouldering strips. The 
 walls were covered with brasses and memorials of the 
 past bearers of the name. Soldiers, priests, courtiers, 
 statesmen — there were records of all, above and beneath ; 
 for the chancel was in reality the mortuary chapel of the 
 Redmans, whose family vaults lay beneath its pavement, 
 and it was the property, not of the Church, but of the 
 head of the ancient house which for nearly a thousand 
 years had dwelt at Abbotsbury. 
 
 Hilda looked at her husband as he stood by the marble 
 effigy of one of the earliest of his ancestors, also a Walter 
 Redman, which lay at the right-hand side of the altar. 
 The rich tracery of the reredos still remained, but the 
 niches which had held the figures of the saints were 
 empty. In the centre space, which the crucifix had once 
 filled, and sometimes the monstrance containing the Host, 
 stood brass vases of autumnal flowers. On the altar itself 
 a plain brass cross occupied the place where once tlie 
 ciborium had been, flanked by two candlesticks. Except 
 for the cross, it more resembled, to Hilda's mind, a 
 
2g CASTING OF NETS 
 
 dressing-table or a side-board than an altar. As she 
 looked at Lord Redman, the living representative of the 
 dead all around him, she could not but feel that the 
 latter were worthily replaced by their descendant so far 
 as character and personal appearance were concerned. 
 Nobody could look at Walter Redman and take him for 
 other than a high-bred gentleman. 
 
 Tall, with a slight but strong figure, he had the open 
 brow and steady, straightforward expression of counte- 
 nance that was remarkable in the faces of many of the 
 family portraits at Abbotsbury. It was not a hard face, 
 but there was that about the lines of the mouth and chin 
 which spoke of a certain degree of quiet determination 
 of character. The living Walter Redman looked very 
 handsome as he leaned carelessly against the tomb of the 
 dead one — the goodly heir of a goodly English race. As 
 Hilda watched him, a sudden sense of the incongruity of 
 the situation came to her. What had he, her husband, 
 in common with those old Redmans who had been laid 
 to rest with all the stately ritual of the Faith he denied ? 
 
 She looked beyond him to the stripped and barren 
 altar, and the emptiness of it all smote her. How 
 could Walter stand there so calmly and indifferently, 
 she wondered, and not realize how separated he was 
 from all that those lying at his feet had held most 
 sacred? She looked at the Russells. The Rector was 
 adjusting the blue ribbons of the markers in the large 
 Bible on the lectern, and his wife was pushing refractory 
 dahlias into the brass vases on the altar. 
 
 Hilda wished that she and her husband had been 
 alone together in the church. She longed to say to 
 
CASTING OF NETS 29 
 
 him somctliing of what was passing in her mind — to 
 ask him how he coukl stand there among his dead and 
 be untouched by the Faith that had been theirs. Here, 
 around and beneath them, generation after generation 
 had kxid themselves down in peace and a sure and 
 certain hope ; but the okl Faith had changed, and he, 
 Walter Redman, was the result of the change — a man 
 with no hopes and no fears, no trust in the future, no 
 belief in the present. 
 
 Never since the day of her marriage had Hilda felt 
 so great a longing to speak. It would be a relief, she 
 thought, if she could only ask Walter the simple 
 question, 'Why?' But the compact made at their 
 marriage rose up like a barrier between them. Her 
 husband had hitherto scrupulously adhered to his 
 promise never to interfere with her religious opinions, 
 and Hilda always remembered that he had stipulated 
 for a similar non-interference on her part with his views 
 on such subjects. However much, therefore, she might 
 wish to break down this barrier, she felt that she could 
 not fail in maintaining her part of the compact made at 
 their engagement. The latter had, as a matter of fact, 
 been not so much of her making as of Lady Merton's. 
 There had been a time when Lord Redman became 
 impatient of the objections to the marriage which Lady 
 Gwendolen, inspired by her own fears and Father 
 Galsworthy's counsels, had perpetually brought forward. 
 He w^as quite prepared to allow to his wife the full liberty 
 of her conscience, but he had no .intention of resigning 
 the liberty of his own. Lady ]Merton foresaw the danger 
 of a rupture of any further negotiations on Lord Redman's 
 
30 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 part. It was she who had suggested this compact to 
 Walter, and had advised her grand-daughter to agree to 
 it. Hilda would have agreed to anything which did not 
 entail the loss of her lover. Her religious convictions 
 were the result rather of heredity and education than of 
 reason and spiritual discernment. With how many of 
 us are they not? 
 
 When Lady Merton found a way out of the difficulty 
 acceptable alike to Walter Redman and to Hilda, she 
 probably did not believe that the latter would consider 
 herself as bound in honour to adhere to her part of the 
 contract. Indeed, in the course of the conversations 
 which they had had together on the subject, she had 
 tried to make Hilda understand that the measure was 
 one to be undertaken for the protection of her own 
 faith and spiritual welfare, and as a security that the 
 commencement of her married life should be serene, 
 and free from any of those petty differences which 
 divergence of religious opinions might produce. After- 
 wards, she had told the girl, it might be her duty to do 
 all in her power to overcome her husband's scepticism 
 and bring him into the Church. 
 
 Lady Gwendolen, accustomed all her life to submit 
 her own more simple judgment to the guidance of Lady 
 Merton's superior worldly experience and spiritual tact, 
 talked to her daughter in the same sense when once she 
 had brought herself to accept Lady Merton's argument, 
 that the Almighty had arranged that Hilda and Lord 
 Redman should marry each other with the double object 
 in view of saving the latter's soul and of benefiting the 
 position of His Church. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 31 
 
 Hilda had listened and acquiesced. Slie had been so 
 supremely happy durnig the (ew weeks which had 
 elapsed since her marriage, that the thought of any 
 difference of belief existing between Walter Redman 
 and herself had scarcely ever occurred to her, and had 
 certainly never troubled her. They had spent tlieir 
 honeymoon in the North of Scotland, and it was only 
 when the time drew near for their arrival at Abbotsbury 
 that Hilda had sometimes felt nervous as to how she 
 might be received in her husband's place, and whether 
 she should be looked upon with coldness and distrust 
 as a Roman Catholic, who was probably trying to con- 
 vert him. 
 
 She had confided her fears to ^Y alter, and he had 
 laughed at her. 
 
 ' You may be sure,' he had said to her, ' that acquaint- 
 ance with people who look coldly on others on account 
 of their beliefs or disbeliefs is not worth cultivating,' and 
 with this remark he had dropped the subject. 
 
 That very morning, while they wxre wandering through 
 the rooms at Abbotsbury, Lord Redman had taken his 
 wife into what had once been the old chapel, but which 
 for many long years had been dismantled and used as a 
 kind of lumber-room. 
 
 'We used to be turned in here to play on wet days 
 when we were children,' he said, with a smik^ And 
 then he had added : ' I dare say you would like to have 
 it restored to its old use. It could very easily be done, 
 if you wish it.' 
 
 Hilda was roused from her reflections by her husband's 
 voice. 
 
32 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ^ What are you tliinking about ? ' he asked. ' You 
 look very serious.' 
 
 Hilda smiled. 
 
 ' All sorts of things, Walter/ she replied. ^ I am glad 
 you brought me here,' she added softly. 
 
 ^ I hope you will often come, Lady Redman,' said the 
 Rector; ^you will always find the church open.' 
 
 'We have three services on Sundays, and Matins 
 and Evensong on Wednesdays and Fridays,' remarked 
 Mrs. Russell from the altar. 
 
 Lord Redman intervened a little hastily. 
 
 'Come, Hilda,' he said; 'I think we must be going 
 back to the house. You have been introduced to the 
 dead, and there are plenty of the living who are anxious 
 to see you.' 
 
 'Won't you and Mary come and dine with us to- 
 night ? ' he added, turning to Mr. Russell. 
 
 ' Shan't we be de trop ? ' asked the Rector. 
 
 Lady Redman laughed. 
 
 ' Oh no,' she replied ; * Walter and I have dined alone 
 for nearly six weeks. I believe he is simply longing for 
 a change of company.' 
 
 'You will be doing Hilda a kindness, you see,' 
 remarked Lord Redman. 
 
 The Russells parted with them in the churchyard, 
 and walked slowly back to the Rectory together. 
 
 ' Mary,' said the Rector solemnly, ' she is charming.' 
 
 ' Yes ; but, oh dear ! that makes it all the worse.' 
 
 ' Makes what all the worse ? ' 
 
 ' Why, her being a Romanist, of course ! ' 
 
 Mr. Russell frowned a little. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 33 
 
 * It is ii sad misfortune,' ho said, sigliin*; ; 'but at any 
 rate a pleasant Romanist is better than a disagreeable 
 one, and they can be very disagreeable sometimes ; the 
 women especially, if they arc perverts.' 
 
 Mr. Russell had a vivid recollection of days passed 
 in a hotel at Rome nmcli frequented by p]nglishwomen 
 of middle age and fervent piety, who talked at him 
 amongst each other during meals in the hopes of making 
 him realize the falsity of the Anglican position. 
 
 ' She is evidently anxious to be friendly,' he con- 
 tinued, ^and Redman and she appear to be very happy. 
 I liked what she said about wishing to know all the 
 people, and not to be merely a sort of Lady Bountiful 
 to them.' 
 
 * Yes, I suppose so,' replied his wife dubiously, * so long 
 as she does n't try to proselytize among them. I must 
 say, James, she is quite a different sort of person from 
 what I had pictured her, and I don't wonder that 
 Walter fell in love with her. We must wait and see, 
 however, what line she will take, and whether she will 
 fill the house with her Roman Catholic friends and re- 
 lations and surround W^alter with priests. There will be 
 many influences at work upon her, you may be sure, for 
 Walter would be a great catch for her Church.' 
 
 The Rector stepped across a bed of onions, and 
 released a blackbird from the meshes of a net stretched 
 across a plum-tree on the red-brick wall of the garden. 
 
 'Heaven knows I don't want Redman to become a 
 
 Roman Catholic,' he said when he had completed the 
 
 operation, 'but an element of belief introduced into his 
 
 life would not be a bad thing for him. I confess that 
 
 3 
 
34 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 I shall be curious to see how things go at the Hall. 
 Her bringing up must have been so utterly different, 
 and I can't think how she will get on among the set 
 that Redman likes to have about him. Luckily for 
 both of them, the marriage is evidently one of affection. 
 If it were not so, I should be afraid there might be dis- 
 agreeables in the future, when they have to settle down 
 to their everyday life.' 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 ^ I^IE autumn days faded gently and ^inipereeptibly 
 A into winter. Except for an occasional three days' 
 visit, Lord and Lady Redman had remaified at Abbotsbury. 
 After the first week or so they had seldom been alone, for 
 there had been a succession of guests coming and going on 
 their way south from Scotland to the various country- 
 houses in the Midlands. Hilda had experienced none of 
 the petty annoyances which in the earlier days of her mar- 
 ried life she had feared she might encounter owing to her 
 being a Catholic. Perhaps her personal beauty and charm 
 of manner disarmed those of her husband's county neigh- 
 bours who mif]:ht have been inclined to resent his marria<]re 
 with her on the score of her faith. A certain amount of 
 disapproval had not unnaturally been expressed in Staf- 
 fordshire at the marriage, for Abbotsbury had been looked 
 upon from time immemorial as an institution in the county, 
 and many of the old friends and connections of the Red- 
 man family were genuinely grieved at the thought that the 
 old place and name must, in all probability, pass in the 
 future to Catholic owners. 
 
 The late Lord Redman and his predecessors before him 
 had entertained at Abbotsbury on a princely scale. In 
 their reign the place had been a centre of the intimate 
 
^6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 county society of those times, when people did not hurry 
 madly from one country-house to another through the 
 length and breadth of the kingdom, staying three days 
 here and three days there, and spending half of their exist- 
 ence and much of their substance on the railway. Abbots- 
 bury had been a house where the worthies of all the 
 country between tlie Peak and the Wrekin met, and three 
 counties had been proud of its hospitality and venerable 
 traditions. 
 
 There were those yet alive who remembered how Christ- 
 mas had been kept at Abbotsbury in the days of the grand- 
 father of the present owner, and could see the stately old 
 peer seated at the head of the long table in the Barons' 
 Hall, a room rich with the associations of the Redmans 
 and of England itself. The light of the wax-candles fell 
 upon the old stained-glass windows emblazoned with the 
 various coats of arms and quarterings of the house since 
 the twelfth century. Over the great fireplace, carved in 
 bas-relief, was a representation of the signing of Magna 
 Charta, and ancient tapestries, depicting famous episodes 
 of war and statecraft in wliich the race had taken part, 
 hung from the walls. The old folk would tell how, at the 
 conclusion of dinner, the head forester of Redman's Cross 
 would enter the hall, followed by his subordinates clad in 
 their uniforms of green and gold, each leading a leash of 
 the famous blood-hounds which had been bred in the ken- 
 nels at Redman's Cross for centuries. They would tell 
 how the hounds, so formidable in appearance, so gentle in 
 reality, would be led round the dining-table and up to the 
 old lord, who would caress them and give to each his por- 
 tion of Christmas fare. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 37 
 
 And then the mummers would come in, with their 
 horned masks and their hobby-horses, and sing the old 
 songs that were sung, it may be, to Robin Hood and Maid 
 Marion, and the simple, quaint Christmas carols of past 
 days. Christmas-tide over, they would hang up their 
 mummers' toggery in Abbotsbury Church, not to be taken 
 down till the Festival of the Holy Child should come 
 round again ; and chance visitors to the church would ask 
 what the presence of the grotesque garments and horned 
 masks in the sacred building might mean, and would 
 wonder at having stumbled upon a survival of medieval 
 customs in this remote portion of the county which con- 
 tains the Potteries and the Black Country within its 
 boundaries. 
 
 If the feeling of regret remained among Lord Redman's 
 friends and neighbours that Abbotsbury should eventually 
 pass into Catholic hands, the new Lady Redman succeeded 
 in winning the goodwill of all who came into contact with 
 her. Her simple, natural manner, the same to rich and 
 poor, quickly overcame any prejudices which might have 
 been harboured against her personally. People said that, 
 after all. Lord Redman was very lucky, and began to reflect 
 that if he did not mind his wife being a Roman Catholic, 
 and his children, if he had any, being brought up in an- 
 other religion to that of his forefathers, there was no par- 
 ticular reason why anybody else should do so. This liberal 
 view of the situation was, to be sure, confined to the more 
 important of the Redmans' country neighbours, and to 
 their own tenants and cottagers. That portion of the 
 county society which took its views from the local clergy 
 and the parish magazines shook its head ominously over 
 
38 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 the future of Abbotsbury, and sniffed the air to catch the 
 first breath of proselytism. 
 
 In the more immediate neighbourhood of Abbotsbury 
 Mrs. Russell had been the means of tranquillizing the 
 minds of many who had expected nothing less than an im- 
 mediate invasion of secret emissaries of Rome to follow 
 the appearance of a Catholic mistress of the Hall, as the 
 great house was called for miles round it. 
 
 The Rector had been astonished, knowing his wife's 
 prejudices against what she termed Romanism, at the 
 friendliness which she had developed in the course of a 
 few weeks for Lady Redman. 
 
 Mary Russell seemed to have quite overcome her suspi- 
 cions that her cousin's wife would interfere in her work 
 among the cottagers and poor people in the parish. She 
 would often allude to the fact of Hilda being a Romanist 
 as deplorable, but, as the weeks went by, even these objec- 
 tions became less frequent on her part, and the Rector, 
 who had always feared that the two would dislike each 
 other, and that his position would thereby become some- 
 what difficult, watched the friendship growing up between 
 them with considerable satisfaction. It would have been 
 very unpleasant had the Hall and the Rectory at Abbots- 
 bury not been upon friendly terms, and Mary Russell's con- 
 nection with Lord Redman would have made such a state 
 of things doubly disagreeable for all parties. 
 
 The Rector's wife was almost as much surprised as the 
 Rector himself, not only to find that she was rapidly be- 
 coming intimate with Lady Redman, but that the latter 
 interested her almost in spite of herself and of her foregone 
 conclusions concerning Roman Catholics in general. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 39 
 
 She had made up lier mind that Hilda would be aggres- 
 sive, and had expected to be kept at a distance as the wife 
 of the minister of a religion which was heretical in Lady 
 Redman's eyes. Instead of this, she had found herself 
 treated from the first as a relation and friend, and in her 
 almost daily intercourse with Hilda she was obliged to 
 confess to herself that whenever their conversation hap- 
 pened to touch in the remotest degree upon religious mat- 
 ters, it was invariably she herself who gave that particular 
 turn to it. Indeed, had it not been for the absence of 
 Lady Redman from the church services, and the occasional 
 presence of Lord Redman sitting alone in the family seat 
 in the chancel on Sunday mornings, Mary Russell would 
 scarcely have remembered that Hilda was not one of them- 
 selves in matters of faith. 
 
 When he was at Abbotsbury, Walter Redman made 
 a point of occasionally appearing at the parish church. 
 He did not do so, like a well-known great lady in Lon- 
 don of the middle of the century, in order to ' do the 
 ci\il thing by the Almighty,' but in order to support an 
 institution which he considered to be of use to society 
 generally. It was neither known nor suspected at Ab- 
 botsbury that Lord Redman was an agnostic, or, as 
 Abbotsbury would have called it with greater directness, 
 a heathen. In AYalter Redman's opinion the majority of 
 mankind required some form or another of dogmatic be- 
 lief, while a minority of it did not; but he was unable 
 to admit that the minority had any right to attempt to 
 interfere with that which experience had taught the 
 majority was to the latter's advantage to believe in. 
 
 He himself had been brought up in all the formal tra- 
 
40 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ditions of a Protestantism into which Puseyism had never 
 penetrated. The Honourable and Reverend Richard, his 
 uncle, would have been extremely annoyed had his High 
 Church principles been called into question ; but he would 
 also have been considerably perplexed had he been de- 
 fined as an Anglican priest. Regularly as a boy, on 
 Sunday mornings, Walter had sat from eleven o'clock 
 until a quarter to one in the oak stalls of the chancel in 
 Abbotsbury Church, and wondered how Sir Walter de 
 Redman could have squeezed himself into the armour 
 which hung on the opposite wall. He found himself at 
 thirty wondering the same thing, especially during the 
 Psalms, or while Mr. Russell was preaching. Every 
 morning at nine o'clock his father had been in the habit 
 of reading family prayers in the presence of his house- 
 hold, in measured, exhortatory tones, as though giving 
 the Almighty His orders for the day. 
 
 It was not until he was a young fellow of twenty that 
 Walter had realized with some surprise that such things 
 were not necessary to existence, and he was some years 
 older before it became apparent to him that he had no 
 positive belief at all. Walter Redman had always been 
 of a thoughtful disposition. Life, in all its manifold 
 representations, had ever possessed for him an extreme 
 fascination. This fascination had not stopped short at 
 the point of deriving as much enjoyment out of it as 
 possible, as was the case with the great majority of men 
 of his age and class. The circumstances of his boyhood 
 had doubtless contributed in no slight degree to the 
 formation of a somewhat serious and critical turn of 
 mind. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 41 
 
 He had been, to begin witli, an only surviving son. 
 Two of his brothers had died in infaney, and his lite be- 
 came, therefore, doubly precious to his parents. His 
 father had given way to the mother's desire to keep her 
 boy at home until he should be of an age to go to a pub- 
 lic school ; and when that age arrived, Walter had been 
 sent, like all his family before him, to Eton, Lord Red- 
 man being very strongly of the opinion that only the 
 training of a public school could properly fit a lad to 
 take up his position in the world as a man in after-life. 
 
 The quiet years spent with a private tutor at Abbots- 
 bury had not been without their effect upon the boy. 
 For good or ill, there is no such teacher as solitude for 
 youth, and until he was fourteen years old Walter Red- 
 man had necessarily had his fair share of it. During the 
 long summer months, when Abbotsbury was empty and 
 his father and motlier were up in London, he had no 
 companions but his pony and his dog when the hours 
 for work with the tutor were over. Solitary rambles 
 through the woods, or afternoons spent on the banks of 
 the trout-stream with his fishing-rod, had been his chief 
 recreations, and with these had come a great love for 
 the life of the woodland and water, and a feeling of 
 friendship and sympathy with Nature generally. Li those 
 years W^alter Redman had unconsciously made intimate 
 acquaintance with those simple beauties of life which 
 were to help him to grapple with its problems later on. 
 
 After four years or so at Eton, he had gone to Oxford, 
 Lord Redman's idea having been that his son should go 
 into Parliament. At the University W^alter had speedily 
 found the path which his temperament and the habits of 
 
42 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 observation contracted in earlier years inclined him to 
 follow. He began to interest himself in natural science 
 and in the social questions of the day, and his pursuit 
 of these studies soon brought him into contact with the 
 more serious portion of college life. Men in this set far 
 older than the future Lord Redman recognised in him a 
 personality which was singularly attractive to them, and 
 they admitted him into their circle with more readiness 
 than they would have shown in the case of the majority 
 of undergraduates. With all his interest in the more 
 serious problems of existence, there was nothing of the 
 prig about Walter Redman. It very soon became known 
 that he was not one of those young men who affected 
 mental superiority in order to conceal moral and physical 
 deficiencies. 
 
 Lord Redman's unexpected death, which took place 
 when Walter had been at Oxford about four years, put 
 an end to all schemes of a Parliamentary career for the 
 latter, and for a year or two after his succession to the 
 title he continued his University life, at the conclusion 
 of which, having taken an unusually brilliant degree, he 
 had devoted much of his time to travelling. The world 
 of society in London had, consequently, known little or 
 nothing of the young Lord Redman, and he had been 
 looked upon by mothers with marriageable daughters as 
 completely beyond their reach. Lady Merton, however, 
 had met him at Rome, where he had spent some weeks 
 on his way back from an expedition in Asia Minor. 
 Walter had been introduced to her by a mutual acquaint- 
 ance as a Free-thinker, and Lady Merton, who knew all 
 about him as soon as she heard his name, while duly 
 
CASTING OF NETS 43 
 
 deploring the fact, began to wonder wliethcr his wandcr- 
 inf'- thoughts might not eventually be turned in the direc- 
 tion of her grand- daughter, Hilda Cawarden, who was 
 to come out the following season in London. 
 
 Lady Mcrton was very civil to young Lord Redman in 
 Rome. She asked him to her luncheon parties in the 
 Via Gresroriana, where she hired au ill-furnished and 
 dreary apartment at the usual exorbitant rent demanded 
 in the English quarter of the city, and entertained Cardi- 
 nals, iNIonsignori, the black world generally, and a sprink- 
 ling of possible converts whose interest in Catholicism 
 might judiciously be increased by finding themselves 
 seated between an Archbishop in picturesque clothes and 
 a Roman princess. Walter Redman quietly studied both 
 his hostess and her entourage, as he studied most people. 
 Lady Merton amused him. She was so obviously a pro- 
 fessional in her Catholicism, and her capacity for assimi- 
 lating the miraculous seemed to him to be second only to 
 her powers of invention. The priests did not amuse him. 
 Their countenances as a rule inspired him ^\X\ distrust, 
 and sometimes with a stronger feeling, while their conver- 
 sation gave him the impression of men who were laughing 
 in their sleeves at the things in which they professed to 
 believe. The Roman princesses as a rule simply bored 
 him. 
 
 Lady jNIerton, however, had no intention of losing sight 
 of so eligible a young man as Lord Redman, and she had 
 pressed him to come to Ware the following autumn for 
 one of her shooting parties, for which she had taken good 
 care that ]Miss Cawarden should be staying witli her. 
 
 Hilda had been married but a short time before she 
 
44 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 found out that the state of perplexity and dissatisfaction 
 in which Lady Merton had depicted her husband as 
 labouring existed only in her grandmother's imagination. 
 She could not but see that Walter was entirely happy, 
 and that he was very far indeed from evincing the interest 
 in his wife's religion which she had been so repeatedly 
 assured would show itself directly after their marriage. 
 The absence of it did not disturb her very seriously. A 
 young girl, married to the man she loved, and who she 
 knew returned her love, it was not to be wondered at if 
 she had no place for other thoughts in her mind than of 
 her husband's and her own happiness. She drove over 
 to Abbotsbridge to Mass on Sunday mornings, and when 
 she got there it seemed easier to thank God for all that 
 had been given to Walter and to herself than to ask for 
 anything more. It was quite in vain that Lady Merton 
 urffed her in her letters to address herself to the interven- 
 tion of St. Joseph as a means of obtaining her husband's 
 speedy conversion. Hilda felt that the interference of 
 St. Joseph, or of any other saint, would not be acceptable 
 just then. She did not believe that Walter and she 
 would be either more or less happy if he were a Catholic, 
 and she was not at all sure that St. Joseph, with the best 
 intentions, might not introduce discordant elements into 
 their lives. On the whole, therefore, it seemed to be 
 safer not to make any effort to interest him in the matter 
 for the present, and she felt almost uneasy at the thought 
 of the possible effects which the attempts of her relations 
 to do so might produce. 
 
 Curiously enough, the only person at Abbotsbury with 
 whom Hilda was able to talk of her religion was Mary 
 
CASTING OF NETS 45 
 
 Russell. The subject seemed to have a strange fascina- 
 tion for Mrs. Kussell, and as she became more intimate 
 with her cousin's wife, she would ask her for information 
 on many points of Catholic doctrine, although she was 
 scarcely able to conceal her disapproval when these were 
 explained to her by Lady Redman. The Roman Church, 
 indeed, exercised the attraction of the candle to the moth 
 for the wife of the Rector of Abbotsbury, but, notwith- 
 standing her strong prejudices against Romanists, as she 
 invariably termed its members, she had never been 
 brought into contact with one of them, except in the 
 most formal and transitory manner. She had not, there- 
 fore, been able to recover her astonishment, during the 
 first weeks of her acquaintance with Hilda, at finding the 
 latter to be like other people, and, as she daily had 
 occasion to think, nicer than the majority. She had 
 expected to find a supercilious young woman who would 
 look upon her as an ignorant heretic, to be pitied, per- 
 haps, but also to be made to feel both her ignorance and 
 her heresy. She had found instead a natural, unaffected 
 girl, full of the happiness and high spirits of youth. 
 
 That this attitude had not proceeded from carelessness 
 or indifference on Lady Redman's part Mary Russell had 
 very quickly realized. She had not been able to avoid 
 observing that while Hilda never spontaneously talked 
 about her o^vn religion, she often inquired very minutely 
 into matters which were indirectly connected with the 
 parish church. 
 
 'I shall come to you for information about the village 
 people and the farmers,' Hilda had said to her, smiling, 
 at- an early period of their acquaintanceship. 'You see,* 
 
46 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 she had added, * at Cawarden it was difFereut. Almost 
 all our people there are Catholics, so, of course, I knew 
 just how to talk to them, and all about their wants and 
 their grievances. But here I am afraid of being looked 
 upon as an intruder on account of our not all going to the 
 same church.' 
 
 This little speech had done much to allay Mary 
 Russell's fears, into which there had entered a certain 
 amount of jealousy. Jest Hilda should seek to undermine 
 her influence in the parish and perhaps attempt to intro- 
 duce disturbing ideas into the heads of the Abbotsbury 
 folk. She very soon became satisfied that Lady Redman 
 had no intention of doing anything of the kind. It was 
 wonderful how soon Hilda made friends, as she had ex- 
 pressed her determination of doing, with all her husband's 
 tenants. Even the Tomlinsons, the dissenting farmer and 
 his wife who were the tenants of one of the most important 
 of the Abbotsbury farms, and who were thorns in the sides 
 of the Rector and Mary Russell, were among her most 
 devoted admirers. The odium theologiciim had kindled 
 somewhat over this point at the Rectory, and Mrs. Rus- 
 sell had even gone so far as to remark a little irritably 
 that, after all, it was very natural. Dissenters always 
 made friends with each other, and Hilda, when all was 
 said and done, was a dissenter just as much as the Tom- 
 linsons were. 
 
 So the weeks passed, and already Christ mas- time was 
 approaching. It soon became known in the neighbour- 
 hood that Christmas that year was to be kept up at 
 Abbotsbury according to the traditions of the place. 
 Lord and Lady Rednum had expressed their determina- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 47 
 
 tion to revive all the kindly hospitality and picturesque 
 usages which had been neglected while the present owner 
 was a bachelor and absent on his travels in far-off coun- 
 tries. The Hall was to be filled by a large party of guests 
 staying in the house from the day before Christmas Eve 
 until after Twelfth Night. None, rich or poor, was to be 
 forgotten or left out in the cold. Hilda, assisted by Mary 
 Russell, was already occupied in writing the invitations 
 for a ball, to which all the hostesses of the country-houses 
 within driving distance were asked to bring their guests 
 on the night of the New Year, and this was to be fol- 
 lowed two nights afterwards by a tenants' ball, to which 
 all the farmers and their families, the tradespeople of 
 Trentford (tlie little town which lay in the valley some 
 five miles from Abbotsbury), the servants, keepers, forest- 
 ers, and retainers of the estate generally were bidden, 
 together with any of the neighbouring gentry who cared 
 to come to it. Then there was to be a big Christmas- 
 tree for the school-children, a dinner for the cottagers 
 and their wives — a ten-days' round of feasting and re- 
 joicing, in fact, in which all were to have their part 
 according to time-honoured custom at Abbotsbury. 
 
 The house-party for these festivities was to include 
 relations of both Hilda and her husband, and among 
 those of Lady Redman, Lady Gwendolen Cawarden and 
 Lady INIerton were expected. 
 
 Hilda was a little anxious concerning the latter's visit 
 to Abbotsbury. Her mother had already stayed a few 
 days at Abbotsbury, soon after she and Walter had 
 come there at the conclusion of their honeymoon. Lady 
 Gwendolen, however, seeing that her daughter was evi- 
 
48 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 dently perfectly happy in her new surroundings, had 
 wisely refrained from questioning her as to whether her 
 husband showed any signs of being attracted to the 
 Church. 
 
 Hilda knew her grandmother too well, however, not 
 to feel sure that she would take the earliest opportunity 
 of ascertaining whether St. Joseph had been doing 
 what was expected of him during the months which 
 had elapsed since her marriage. It had been an easy 
 matter enough to respond in a vague manner to Lady 
 Merton's questions on the subject in her letters; but 
 Hilda thought it more than probable that, in her zeal 
 for the faith, she would attempt to give St. Joseph 
 some assistance, and would endeavour herself to talk 
 to Walter on religious topics. 
 
 Lady Redman was not at all sure what the effect of 
 such an attempt might be. Hitherto the most perfect 
 confidence had existed between herself and her husband. 
 She had often been surprised at the similarity of views 
 which they possessed on many subjects. It seemed to 
 her to be extraordinary that their convictions regarding 
 spiritual things should be so widely diverse, and that 
 this should yet create so little impression upon their 
 relations to each other in their daily life. Sometimes 
 she experienced qualms of conscience, and wondered 
 whether she were not allowing her love for her husband 
 to supplant that other love which her training had taught 
 her to believe was required by God for Himself and His 
 Church. She knew very well what was expected of 
 her by her family, and, indeed, by her co-religionists 
 generally. Lady Gwendolen had been thankful, as 
 
CASTING OF NETS 49 
 
 soon as her mother had persuaded her into giving her 
 consent to Hilda's marriage with a Protestant, to seize 
 upon that which Lady Merton had impressed upon her 
 was its great redeeming feature, and she had never 
 ceased to remind her daughter that the hitter had the 
 grave responsibility of being chosen to bring about the 
 return of an ancient family to the faith of its forefathers. 
 Father Galsworthy had talked to her long and earnestly 
 upon this responsibility, and upon the influence which 
 the proper use of it on her part might bring to Catholicism 
 in England, while Lady Merton had solemnly told her 
 on repeated occasions that she was an instrument in the 
 hands of God for bringing salvation to souls yet unborn. 
 
 During her brief engagement it had seemed to Hilda 
 that to be an instrument of any such purpose was, on 
 the whole, an enviable position of which any Catholic 
 girl might reasonably be proud. She had been brought 
 up in an atmosphere of which religion was the principal 
 component part. It had appeared to her, in the days 
 immediately preceding her marriage, that it would be an 
 easy thing to win her lover over to her faith. She had 
 expected, so entirely had religion dominated the details 
 of her life at Cawarden — the Mass in the chapel which 
 commenced the day, the recital of the rosary which ended 
 it, the visits to the Blessed Sacrament which the Ca- 
 wardens were privileged to reserve in their family chapel 
 — that there could be no intercommunion of ideas and 
 sympathies from which a common bond of faith in the 
 things unseen was absent. 
 
 When Hilda looked back upon the short weeks of her 
 
 married life, it amazed her, and at times almost frightened 
 
 4 
 
50 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 her, to see how very quickly she had drifted into a con- 
 dition of existence in whicli not only did these things 
 have no part, but she did not feel their absence as she 
 believed she ought to feel it. To be sure, she went to 
 Mass on Sundays and days of obligation, and otherwise 
 conformed to the observances which the Church required 
 of her ; but her life was no longer the same. The atmos- 
 phere of Cawarden and that of Abbotsbury were entirely 
 different. It was extraordinary, she thought, that she 
 had felt the difterence so little — that Walter and she 
 should be ,so happy together that what had seemed at 
 Cawarden to be spiritual necessities of life, at Abbotsbury 
 should have, in a manner, ceased to be so. Hilda won- 
 dered what Father Galsworthy would say to her should 
 she seek his counsel on the subject. Her conscience 
 would sometimes assert itself, and tell her that this put- 
 ting off of the work which her confessor and her relations 
 had told her was appointed for her to do, in order to 
 avoid risking any interruption in the happiness of her 
 life with Walter, was a dereliction from duty and an 
 act of moral cowardice. 
 
 It had been a relief sometimes to talk to Mary Russell 
 on religious matters. The Rector's wife at least dis- 
 played an interest in her faith, although it was an an- 
 tagonistic and prejudiced interest, and Hilda found this 
 attitude of Mrs. Russell's an easier one to deal with than 
 the absolute indifference to all forms of dogmatic belief 
 which seemed to form an impenetrable barrier against 
 any approach to discussion with her husband on the sub- 
 ject. She was always ready, therefore, to answer Mrs. 
 Russell's questions, which, as their intimacy increased, 
 
CASTING OF NETS 51 
 
 became more frequent and more searching. To say the 
 truth, Mary Russell displayed an ignorance of the real 
 tenets of the Church to which she was so opposed which 
 astonished Hilda even while it amused her. It became 
 quite interesting to explain to her inquiring cousin how 
 completely mistaken she was in many of her most cher- 
 ished suppositions respecting the belief held by Roman 
 Catholics. 
 
 Though Lady Redman possessed neither more nor less 
 theological knowledge than the average girl brought up 
 and educated in Catholic surroundings, she found that 
 it cost her no great effort completely to demolish more 
 than one of Mrs. Russell's strongest positions, inasmuch 
 as these were chiefly based on stock misrepresentations 
 of Catholic doctrine which Mary had learned in the first 
 instance from her governess, and in later life from con- 
 troversial books of the militant school of Protestantism. 
 
 Now, however, a few hours would bring Lady Merton 
 and various other relatives to Abbotsbury, and Hilda felt 
 that they would certainly try to make her give some ac- 
 count of her stewardship of Walter as far as it had gone. 
 
 She wished she could believe that the happiness of her 
 new life might be sufficient to justify this account in their 
 eyes ; but the letters she liad received since her marriage 
 both from her mother and from Lady Merton convinced 
 Lady Redman that the mere fact of her husband and her- 
 self enjoying mutual happiness would not be admitted as a 
 justification for her having placed that happiness before 
 any other consideration. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 CHRISTMAS was ushered in that year in Stafford- 
 shire by genuine Christmas weather. A heavy fall 
 of snow had been succeeded by a hard frost. The great 
 oaks in the park at Abbotsbury stood out majestically 
 against the general whiteness around them, and the scarlet 
 berries of the old holly-trees shov/ed like little stains of 
 blood on their snow-laden branches. 
 
 It was nearly five o'clock, and Lady Redman was await- 
 ing the arrival of some of her guests in the gallery at 
 Abbotsbury. The room occupied the entire length of the 
 fagade of one of the courtyards around which the house 
 was built. The green painted windows were uncurtained, 
 and the light from inside the gallery shone through the 
 stained glass, casting patches of colour on the snow be- 
 neath them. Within the room all was warmth and com- 
 fort. Three large fireplaces, in which were burning great 
 logs of wood, mingled with blocks of Cannock Chase coal, 
 warmed it, and the smell of the burning wood mingled 
 pleasantly with the scent of orchids, lilies of the valley, 
 and other flowers, which were distributed about it. 
 
 Lady Redman, as she sat in a low armchair by one of 
 the fireplaces, looked in every way a woman fitted to be 
 the mistress of so stately a home as Abbotsbury, Apart 
 from the beauty of her features and colouring, and the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 
 
 S3 
 
 warm tints of the auburn hair clustering upon the small? 
 high-bred-looking head, there was a certain grace and dig- 
 nity about Hilda Redman which was certainly suitable to 
 her surroundings. She had none of the spasmodic and 
 awkward movements of the arms and legs affected by the 
 modern English girl. The worn expression in the eyes, 
 and the hard lines about the mouth, which make the 
 athletic Englishwoman of two or three and twenty of to- 
 day look double her age were conspicuous by their absence 
 from Hilda's face, though she could take part in all the 
 forms of outdoor exercise necessary for a woman to indulge 
 in. There was a certain natural, tranquil air about Lady 
 Redman which attracted attention quite as much as her 
 undeniable good looks. Like the portrait of some well- 
 bred lady of a past generation, she was as a pleasant pic- 
 ture upon which to rest the eye, and Abbotsbury as a frame 
 suited her admirably. 
 
 The sound of horses' hoofs beating dully on the frozen 
 snow in the courtyard below roused Hilda from a reverie 
 into which she had fallen as she sat opposite the fire, 
 watching the colours of the flames as they licked the 
 great wooden logs. With a little sigh she rose from her 
 chair and put away the book which was lying open in her 
 lap. There would be a perpetual arrival of guests, some 
 coming from the north and some from the south, from 
 five o'clock to nearly dinner-time, for there was to be a 
 party of over twenty people in the house during the 
 coming Christmas festivities. Lady Merton and those 
 of the visitors who were coming from London would be 
 the earliest to reach Abbotsbury, and Hilda had barely 
 time to walk to the end of the gallery when the doors 
 
54 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 were thrown open and the grooni-of-the-chambers an- 
 nounced them. 
 
 Lady Merton was the first to enter the room, and she 
 several times kissed her grand-daughter affectionately. 
 
 ^ Such a pleasure/ she murmured sweetly, ^ to find 
 my dearest Hilda in her new home ! ' and she cast an 
 appreciative glance around her over Lady Redman's 
 shoulder. 
 
 ^ You must all be frozen,' said Hilda, leading the way 
 to the fire, near which some tea-tables were arranged. 
 'I hope you found the carriages and got away at once. 
 Trentford Station is not a pleasant place on such an 
 evening.' 
 
 'We were not kept a moment. Lady Redman,' said 
 Mr. Shirley, an old college friend of Walter Redman's, 
 who was among these first arrivals ; ' and we found the 
 foot-warmers which had been so thoughtfully provided 
 for us in the carriages much hotter than those supplied 
 by the railway company.' 
 
 *They will bring tea directly,' said Hilda, helloing 
 Lady Merton to disengage herself from the folds of a 
 large fur cloak. 'By the way,' she added, smiling, 'I 
 have taken it for granted that you all know each other.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley looked inquiringly at Lady Merton, with 
 whom he had driven from the station. 
 
 *We made acquaintance over the foot-warmer,' said 
 the latter graciously, ' but I do not think that we know 
 each other's names.' 
 
 Lady Eedman laughed. 
 
 'Then you shall be formally introduced,' she replied. 
 ' Mr. Edward Shirley — my grandmother. Lady Merton.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 55 
 
 Lady Merton made a dignified aud old-fashioned bow, 
 and Mr. Shirley a jerky and modern one, and then he 
 looked at his new acquaintance with some curiosity. He 
 had often heard of her, and Lord Redman had told Iiim 
 that he would meet her if he came to Abbotsbury for 
 Christmas. He had never suspected, however, that the 
 agreeable, middle-aged lady with whom he had conversed 
 during the four-mile drive from the station was Lady 
 Merton. He had expected, from all that he had heard, 
 to meet a rather formidable old woman, who would quote 
 the writings of the early Fathers to him after a few 
 minutes' acquaintance. 
 
 Lady Merton, on her part, gave the faintest possible 
 start of surprise when she heard his name, and looked 
 at her grand-daughter. 
 
 ^Mr. Shirley the — writer?' she said, pausing a little 
 before the last word. 
 
 Hilda looked puzzled, and Mr. Shirley came to her 
 assistance. 
 
 ' Yes,' he replied simply, with a twinkle of amusement 
 in his eyes. 
 
 Hilda felt a little uncomfortable. It struck her that 
 when a hostess numbered an author among her guests 
 she should at least be aware of the fact. 
 
 ^ I 'm afraid you must think me very ignorant,' she 
 said to him, with a smile, ^ but Redman never told me 
 that you wrote ; so, you see, I must confess that my 
 grandmother asked me a question which I was unable 
 to answer.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley laughed outright this time. 
 
 * My dear Lady Redman,' he replied, ^ I should have 
 
56 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 been very much surprised to find that you were ac- 
 quainted with the fact. I fear that my literary efforts 
 would not be at all interesting to you, and Walter prob- 
 ably did not think it worth while to allude to so tire- 
 some a subject.' 
 
 Lady Merton went to the tea-table and sat down. 
 
 * Where is Walter ? ' she asked presently. 
 
 *I have not seen him since luncheon/ replied Hilda, 
 busying herself with pouring out tea. ' He went off 
 directly afterwards with his retriever, saying that he 
 should go down the river and look for wild duck. This 
 frost has brought us a quantity of them, I believe. But 
 he will be here very soon,' she added. 
 
 Before long more guests arrived, including Lady Gwen- 
 dolen Cawarden and her son, who had come from 
 Lancashire, in which county the Cawarden estates were 
 situated. Then Lord Redman came in, and cordially 
 welcomed all his relations and friends. He appeared to 
 be particularly pleased to see Mr. Shirley. The two had 
 been at Oxford together, and their tastes and ideas were 
 very similar. Edward Shirley, however, had not been 
 born to succeed to a peerage and thirty or forty thousand 
 a year. He had been obliged to use the brains and the 
 mind which had been given to him, and, though Walter 
 Redman's natural gifts had been very much of the same 
 calibre, the necessity which the other had experienced 
 of having continually to practise his powers of analysis 
 and criticism had caused the latter to develop themselves 
 and win for their owner a foremost place among modern 
 philosophical and critical writers. 
 
 Mr. Shirley was Lord Redman's senior by some years, 
 
CASTING OF NETS 57 
 
 and while Walter was travelling about the world at the 
 conclusion of his college days, Edward Shirley was study- 
 m<r in Berlin and learning how to think in Paris. The 
 material which he had acquired from the master-minds of 
 Germany he had learned how to assimilate under the 
 fashioners of the intellect and the teachers of the art of 
 consecutive thought of France. The result had been a 
 combination of the pitiless powers of probing the depths 
 of human thought and uncovering its humanity belonging 
 to the former school, and the keen and concise reasoning 
 and orderly application of the reasoning faculty when ac- 
 quired which are the brilliant characteristics of the latter. 
 ' Why did you never tell me that INIr. Shirley was a dis- 
 tinf^uished author, Walter?' said Lady Redman to her 
 husband, smiling. 'I shall have fallen in his estimation 
 for ever in consequence.' 
 
 Lord Redman looked a little embarrassed. 
 ' Well, really,' he replied, after a pause, ' I did not tliink 
 that you would be much the wiser if I had told you. Shir- 
 ley doesn't write on subjects which would particularly 
 interest you.' 
 
 'There, Lady Redman!' exclaimed Mr. Shirley trium- 
 phantly ; ^you see that I was perfectly right. If I were a 
 novelist or a newspaper correspondent, Redman would 
 have told you, and I feel sure that I should have found a 
 copy of my last book, with the leaves duly cut, lying in a 
 prominent position on one of those tables.' 
 
 'You are only making matters worse,' said Hilda, laugh- 
 ing. 'You evidently think me unworthy of any deeper 
 literature than fiction. I can't say that either you or my 
 husband are very complimentary, T^Ir. Shirley.' 
 
58 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 The latter looked round the circle at the tea-table with 
 a little smile. 
 
 ' Lady Redman is rather severe on special correspondents, 
 is she not ? ' he remarked. 
 
 It was nearly time to dress for dinner before all the 
 members of the party who were expected that evening 
 had arrived and everybody had been shown their various 
 rooms. A small suite, consisting of a bed and dressing 
 room and a sitting-room, had been apportioned by Hilda 
 for Lady Merton's use, and her mother occupied the rooms 
 adjoining these. Lady Merton called her daughter into 
 the sitting-room while their respective maids were com- 
 pleting the necessary preparations for dressing for dinner. 
 Lady Gwendolen saw at a glance that something had oc- 
 curred to upset her mother. Lady Merton was not a per- 
 son who could disguise her feelings with tliose over whom 
 she felt she could dominate, and she had greater confidence 
 in her influence over her daughter than she had ever been 
 able to feel in that which she might possess over her 
 grand-daughter. 
 
 She closed the doors of the sitting-room, and sat down 
 with a little exclamation of disgust. 
 
 ^ Gwen,' she said impressively, ' I am deeply distressed.' 
 
 * Distressed ? ' asked Lady Gwendolen. ^ About what, 
 mamma ? ' 
 
 * Distressed and astonished,' continued Lady Merton, 
 ignoring the interruption — ^ distressed that Hilda should 
 be kept in ignorance by her husband of tlie character of the 
 friends whom he asks into the house ; astonished that I 
 should be invited to meet such individuals.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen stared at her mother. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 59 
 
 * I do not understand; slic said. ' What people do you 
 
 mean ? ' 
 
 ' What people ? ' returned Lady Merton. ' Why, infidel 
 writers such as Mr. Shirley, a man who spends his life in 
 attempting to lead souls astray by means of his vile calum- 
 nies against the Church — against all religions, indeed! 
 And Hilda did not even know who he was! Redman 
 had kept it from her, of course. His books are on the 
 Index,' she concluded in a lower tone. 
 
 Lady Gwendolen sighed. 
 
 * I do not see what can be done,' she replied. ' Mar- 
 riage with a Protestant must necessarily expose Hilda to 
 meeting irreligious people. It is one of the things I 
 always dreaded for her. I used to tell you so, mamma, 
 if you remember, before the engagement was settled.' 
 
 'Did you, Gwen ? I dare say,' said Lady Merton 
 indifferently. 'But to return to Mr. Shirley: he is a 
 person whom no Catholic ought to be asked to meet.' 
 
 Lady Merton gave a defiant breadth to the 'a' in 
 ' Catholic ' which was redolent of orthodoxy. 
 
 'You must warn Hilda against him,' she continued; 
 'he is a most dangerous man, plausible, clever — one 
 of Satan's angels, in fact.' 
 
 'She can't prevent Walter asking his friends,' objected 
 Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 Lady Merton folded her hands together on her lap. 
 They were beautifully shaped hands, smooth and rounded, 
 not at all the hands of an old woman. 
 
 ' She must be made to see that it is her duty to exert 
 all her influence in order to eliminate such friends from 
 his life,' she replied. ' I do not think that Hilda's letters 
 
6o CASTING OF NETS 
 
 have been at all satisfactory since she married,' she con- 
 tinued. ' I have looked in vain for any allusions in them 
 to what, after all, ought to "be the great object of her exist- 
 ence, and the questions I asked her in my letters have 
 always remained unanswered.' 
 
 ' Hilda is perfectly happy, at any rate,' said Lady Gwen- 
 dolen. 'I was much struck by that when I was last 
 here.' 
 
 ' Of course she is happy ; she has everything to make 
 her so from a worldly point of view. I did n't suppose 
 Redman would ill-treat her because she was a Catholic ; 
 but happiness is not the question. I fear that Hilda has 
 been neglecting the duty which this marriage imposed 
 upon her. However, we shall very soon see how things 
 are progressing, though Mr. Shirley's presence here is 
 not an encouraging sign. Yes, Spencer, I am coming 
 directly. A quarter to eight, is it? Gwen, I must go 
 and dress, and so must you. I hope you will take an 
 early opportunity of telling Redman how greatly you 
 deplore that Hilda should be brought into contact with 
 such a person as Mr. Shirley. How can we expect our 
 
 prayers to be answered if we allow her to be exposed 
 
 No, a low body, of course, Spencer. Gwen, we shall be 
 horribly late for dinner ! ' and Lady Merton disappeared 
 into the dressing-room. 
 
 The following day was Christmas Eve. The cold was 
 keener than ever, and the snow had been frozen to a crisp, 
 dry powder which was pleasant to walk and drive upon. 
 It had been arranged that the men of the party were to 
 shoot the woods at Redman's Cross that day, and though 
 the snow would interfere w^ith the sport, and add con- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 6i 
 
 siderably to tlie difficulties of beating and bringing the 
 game properly up to the guns, the majority of the men to 
 whom Walter Redman had put the choice the night before 
 in the smoking-room of adhering to the arrangements or 
 deferring them until the weather was more favourable voted 
 for the former. Many of them were anxious to see the 
 old deer-park and its famous oaks, and to catch a glimpse, 
 if possible, of the herd of wild goats which roamed about 
 its more sequestered spots, and which had been a feature 
 of the place since the time of Richard II., who, according 
 to certain documents preserved in the muniment-room at 
 Abbotsbury, had presented the Redman of the day with 
 its progenitors, in acknowledgment of a mighty hunting 
 at Redman's Cross in which the monarch had taken part. 
 
 The brilliant sunshine and crisp, invigorating air made 
 Hilda suggest that such of the ladies as cared to make 
 the expedition should drive over to luncheon with the 
 shooters. The plan was voted a delightful one, and 
 even Lady Merton, when she heard that the meal would 
 be eaten in the house of the head forester, a portion of 
 which was fitted up as a shooting lodge, expressed her 
 determination to accompany the party. 
 
 Abbotsbury was a carefully organized establishment, 
 and Lord Redman liked to have everything well done in 
 each department of it. The shooters breakfasted to- 
 gether, and at nine o'clock an omnibus and a pair of 
 powerful, well-bred bays came round, and Walter mounted 
 the box and took the reins himself. A little before twelve 
 o'clock an open break, drawn by four horses, with a 
 couple of postilions, clad in the dark-blue and orange 
 liveries of the Redmans, was waiting at the hall-door for 
 
62 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Hilda and the ladies, and a landau for Lady Merton and 
 any other guest who might feel the cold too great for 
 driving in an open carriage. 
 
 The parks of Abbotsbury and Redman's Cross almost 
 joined each other, although the distance between the two 
 places was some six or seven miles. The latter, how- 
 ever, was entirely different in its characteristics from the 
 domain which surrounded Abbotsbury. The carriages 
 swept between two ancient stone lodges, ivy-clad and 
 battlemented, with deep muUioned vrindows, and sur- 
 mounted by the goats which formed the crest and sup- 
 porters of the Redman family. Once within the gates, 
 the scenery changed, and the occupants of the carriages 
 looked upon a tract of country such as characterized the 
 England of Saxon and Norman times. Mighty oaks, 
 with their gnarled and wide-spreading boughs, stood up 
 gaunt and black against the snow-covered banks ; and 
 withered bracken, russet-coloured, covered the ground, 
 relieved here and there by patches of vivid scarlet, where 
 bramble-leaves nestled in the undergrowth. Clumps of 
 venerable hollies, which had attained to the size and 
 dignity of forest- trees, held the snowflakes sparkling in 
 the sunlight between their prickly foliage, and every now 
 and then a stag or a fallow-deer would start out of the 
 fern and bound away to closer covert, frightened by the 
 thud of the horses' hoofs and the ring of the carriage- 
 wheels on the frozen ground. Away in the hollow a 
 pool of water stood, wild and solitary-looking as that 
 over which King Arthur passed to his rest. The ghostly 
 stems of stunted birch-trees, and patches of heather, 
 among which broods of black game still lingered, dotted 
 
CASTING OF NETS 6;^ 
 
 its shores, and tlic wildfowl llockcd to it in the hard 
 weather, knowing that the springs by which it was fed 
 prevented it from ever being entirely iee-bonnd. 
 
 As the carriages passed through the glades of the old 
 chase, Lady Redman pointed out some of the more famous 
 oaks to her guests — the Beggar's Oak, which was men- 
 tioned as a landmark in Domesday Book ; the King's 
 Oak, and the Venison Oak, around each of which hung 
 popular legends and traditions of centuries long dead. 
 
 It was nearly one o'clock when they drove up to the 
 door of the forest lodge at Redman's Cross, where the 
 shooters were to join them at luncheon. The room in 
 which the table was laid was in keeping with its sylvan 
 surroundings. The high roof was supported by rafters of 
 ancient oak, fashioned, perhaps, from fallen limbs of the 
 trees which the party had just looked upon. On the walls, 
 panelled with the same timber, hung the antlers of red 
 and fallow deer, and the curved horns and wicked-looking 
 skulls of departed patriarchs of the herd of wild goats. 
 Between these were specimens of bows of yew and arrows 
 of box- wood, which had laid many a fat buck low in the 
 olden days, when a man in those parts often depended 
 upon his woodcraft for his supper. 
 
 ' What a possession ! ' exclaimed Mr. Shirley enthusias- 
 tically. He did not shoot, and had accompanied the occu- 
 pants of the break, which, with its four horses, had arrived 
 at the lodge before the more sober landau. ' I had no 
 idea,' he continued, ^ that so perfect a bit of medieval Eng- 
 land was in existence, and still less that it was to be found 
 in Staffordshire.' 
 
 ' Staffordshire is not all Black Country and Potteries,' 
 
64 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 said Hilda, smiling. ' I wish you could see Redman Cross 
 in autumn,' she added ; ' the snow and the bare trees give 
 it quite a different effect.' 
 
 * No doubt,' answered Mr. Shirley ; ' but the effect suits 
 it. It is strong, and northern, like the oak-trees. Look 
 at those men,' he continued, ' coming in with their abomi- 
 nable breech-loading guns under their arms. If I were 
 Redman, I would insist upon everybody who shot at Red- 
 man's Cross using those bows and arrows.' 
 
 ' I am afraid the game-larder at Abbotsbury would be 
 very empty,' replied Hilda, laughing. ' Are you so reac- 
 tionary in your ideas, Mr. Shirley ? ' 
 
 Her husband entered the room at this moment, followed 
 by the other guns. 
 
 ' Shirley a reactionary ! ' he said. ^ This is a new depart- 
 ure, Ned,' he added, laughing. ' What strange sentiments 
 have you been expounding ? ' 
 
 ^ You are all to put away your guns and shoot with bows 
 and arrows for the remainder of the day,' said Hilda. ' Mr. 
 Shirley is shocked at anything so modern as breech-loaders 
 being used at Redman's Cross.' 
 
 'He shall try his fourteenth-century w^eapons on my 
 nineteenth-century pheasants after luncheon if he likes,' 
 said Lord Redman. 
 
 ' Reactionary ideas,' said Mr. Shirley, ' are very seldom 
 put into practice by those who advocate them. Look at 
 our Socialists, for example.' 
 
 The luncheon party was a merry one. The food was as 
 good and varied as though it were being served in the 
 dining-room at Abbotsbury ; for no sooner had Hilda sug- 
 gested that they should drive over to Redman's Cross that 
 
CASTING OF NETS 65 
 
 morning, than all the necessary materials for the meal had 
 been despatched thither, together with one of the cooks to 
 give the finishing touches to the diflferent hot dishes of 
 which it was composed. 
 
 Lady Merton sat and ate her luncheon in a very com- 
 placent frame of mind. Being Christmas Eve, and, there- 
 fore, a fast-day, such things as cutlets and game-pie were 
 forbidden to her ; but there was no lack of maigre dishes 
 — cunningly-prepared eggs and varieties of fish and vege- 
 tables — which were a very acceptable substitute for flesh 
 meats. She expressed her fears that the flavour of some 
 of these had been assisted by an irreligious admixture of 
 stock, but Lord Redman assured her that his cook was 
 French, and he felt sure, therefore, incapable of so inciting 
 to crime the Catholic members of the party, for whom 
 maigre fare had been specially ordered. 
 
 Lady Merton had been mistress of a large establish- 
 ment herself during her husband's life, and her dower- 
 house of Ware w^as admirably managed. She appre- 
 ciated the organization of Abbotsbury, and the scale of 
 ease and comfort upon wliich everything was mounted. 
 She congratulated herself, as she glanced at Hilda sitting 
 smiling and happy at the end of the table, on ha\ing 
 settled her grand-daughter very satisfactorily in the world, 
 and she was well aware that, had it not been for her, 
 Lady Gwendolen would never have so far overcome her 
 objections to Hilda marrj'ing a Protestant as to sanction 
 the alliance with Lord Redman, notwithstanding all that 
 the latter was able to bestow on his wife. 
 
 Luncheon over, Lord Redman hurried the shooters 
 away to their work. The shortness of the December 
 
 5 
 
66 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 afternoons did not admit of any time being wasted. 
 Some of the ladies of the party accompanied the guns 
 to their respective posts; but Hilda disliked looking on 
 at shooting, and she volunteered to show Lady Merton, 
 Mr. Shirley, and others who did not care to stand about 
 with the guns, some of the big trees, and the famous 
 bloodhounds in the kennels behind the lodge. 
 
 Lady Merton walked rather more slowly than the 
 rest, and her grand-daughter remained with her, after 
 directing the others to the path which would lead them 
 to the Beggar's Oak. 
 
 ' It is a great pleasure to find you so happy and with 
 everything that this world can give, dear Hilda,' said 
 Lady Merton, in her gentle, caressing tones, as Mr. 
 Shirley and his companions disappeared among the 
 trees. 
 
 ' I do not think anybody could be happier than I am,' 
 answered Hilda simply. 
 
 ' Ah ! ' continued Lady Merton. * Happiness is a great 
 gift — a most undeserved blessing,' and she gave a little 
 sigh; 'but, my dear child, it has its dangers.' 
 
 ' Its dangers ? ' 
 
 ' Grave dangers/ repeated Lady Merton. ' We are 
 so apt to allow it to make us forget our responsibilities.' 
 
 ' I hope Walter and I shall not do that,' answered 
 Hilda. ' You have no idea,' she continued, ' how keenly 
 sensible he is of his duties as a large proprietor, and how 
 all the people about here respect and love him. I am 
 only anxious to do my part as his wife, though, of course, 
 as yet I feel a comparative stranger in the place.' 
 
 'That is very right — very proper. But I was not 
 
CASTING OF NETS 67 
 
 thinking of your responsibilities to your husband's people, 
 but of those to your husband himself. I eould not be 
 happy if I were married to a man who was not a Catholic, 
 Hilda/ 
 
 * But,' said Lady Redman, ^ we had both taken that 
 question into consideration before we married.' 
 
 Lady Merton gave her a little glance from beneath 
 half-closed eyelids. 
 
 * Of course. But what are considerations in compari- 
 son to the safety of a human soul ? ' she replied, after a 
 slight pause. 
 
 ' Let us call them promises — mutual promises, not 
 considerations,' said Hilda. 
 
 Lady Merton stooped and disengaged a bramble from 
 her skirt. 
 
 ^ My dear Hilda,' she remarked, * call them what you 
 will, but the fact remains that a wife who is a good Cath- 
 olic has no right to be happy so long as her husband 
 remains outside the Church. Besides, your mutual prom- 
 ises, as you choose to call them, were not mutual at all. 
 The Church demanded that your husband should agree 
 to certain stipulations. Had he not done so, your mar- 
 riage could not have taken place. You must recollect 
 that those stipulations did not proceed from you, they 
 proceeded from the Church.' 
 
 ' Even so,' replied Hilda, ^ Walter would not have 
 agreed to them had I not promised to agree to his 
 own.' 
 
 * You agreed — yes,' said Lady Merton ; ' but with the 
 mental reservation — a very necessary one under the cir- 
 cumstances — that you would use all the influence you 
 
68 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 might possess over your husband to compass his conver- 
 sion in the future.' 
 
 Hilda was silent. She could not deny that, during 
 her engagement, she had always clung to the idea that 
 Walter's conversion would be effected through her love 
 for him. It was the first time, however, that this feeling, 
 which had seemed to her to be but a part of her love, had 
 struck her in the light of a mental reservation. 
 
 * And Walter ? ' she said, at length. ^ He might lay 
 claim to mental reservations on his side.' 
 
 ' Exactly,' answered Lady Merton. ^ He might do so. 
 I am not sure,' she abided slowly, Hhat there are not 
 already signs of his doing so. It is this point upon 
 which I feel it is my duty to put you on your guard, 
 Hilda.' 
 
 'Oh!' exclaimed Hilda, smiling, 'you are quite mis- 
 taken there. Nobody could be more scrupulous than 
 Walter in allowing me full liberty to practise my religion. 
 Indeed, the subject is never mentioned between us. He 
 goes to his church — at least, he sometimes goes — and I 
 go to mine.' 
 
 'That is just the danger. The subject, you say, is 
 never mentioned between you. You resign all the 
 influence which you ought to have — which it is your 
 duty to have — over your husband. But are you sure that 
 he is not all the while exercising a silent influence over 
 you, and causing you to forget the duty you owe to God 
 and to the Church ? I think you are deceiving yourself, 
 Hilda. You talked very differently before your marriage, 
 when we spoke of these things together.' 
 
 'I cannot think what you mean/ said Hilda wonder- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 69 
 
 ingly. ' As I have said before, Walter is most careful 
 never to allude to the difference in our beliefs. Even the 
 Russells, who might naturally resent the fact of my being 
 a Catholic, never interfere with me in any way. Indeed, 
 Mary Russell is the only person to whom I ever open my 
 lips on the subject, and, though she makes no secret of be- 
 ing a strong Protestant, I think that she is in reality very 
 much interested in the Church. She often asks me 
 questions about it, and lately I lent her some books. 
 She said she wished to read something on our side.* 
 
 ^ Poor thing ! ' said Lady Merton. ' A parson's wife is 
 in a ridiculous position. What was it Queen Elizabeth 
 said to the wife of the man who called himself Arch- 
 bishop of Canterbury ? " * Madam ' I may not call you, 
 and * mistress ' I am loath to call you." But, to return to 
 Walter, I would much rather that he asked you questions 
 as Mrs. Russell does. It would be far more satisfactory, 
 even if he disagreed with your answers. I confess that 
 I distrust this method of apparently ignoring so vital a 
 subject. It is a subtile attempt to inoculate you with 
 his own indifference to such things.' 
 
 Hilda began to feel uncomfortable. Lady Merton was 
 putting into words ideas which her own conscience, trained 
 to be supersensitive by those who had moulded and directed 
 it from childhood, had been suggesting to her of late. 
 
 ^ There is another thing,' pursued Lady JMerton, appar- 
 ently unconscious of her grand-daughter's embarrassment, 
 ' which makes us all very uneasy. Walter has no right to 
 expose you to the presence of such a man as Mr. Shirley. 
 I was horrified to find him a guest in your house, Hilda.* 
 
 * He is a great friend of my husband,' said the latter, 
 
yo CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ^ but I hardly know him. Walter introduced him to me 
 in London before we were married. As you heard, I did 
 not even know that he wrote.' 
 
 'No/ replied Lady Merton. 'That is what I cannot 
 forgive your husband. He should have told you, and at 
 least have given you the option of declining to know a 
 man whose writings have been condemned as pernicious 
 and immoral, and whom no Catholic ought to meet.' 
 
 ' I will never interfere with Walter's friends, or refuse 
 to receive them,' said Lady Redman, speaking with more 
 determination than she had hitherto done. 
 
 Lady ]\Ierton's eyes drooped, with a peculiar, depre- 
 cating expression acquired in the course of periodical 
 retreats in conventual establishments. 
 
 ' Ah, well, my dear cliild,' she replied gently, ' I have 
 done my duty in warning you of what I believe to be 
 dangers and troubles in store for you. God grant,' she 
 continued in a lower tone, 'that you may some day 
 realize more fully than you seem to do at present that 
 in your hands lies the possibility of saving the soul of 
 the husband you profess to love, and, through his ex- 
 ample, perhaps of numberless others. Come,' she added, 
 ' let us walk a little quicker and overtake the others, now 
 that we have had our little talk.' 
 
CILVPTER VI 
 
 ' T^ROFESSIONAL saints arc very tiresome people,' 
 
 J7 siii^ Lord Kednian, pocketing the red ball with 
 somewhat unnecessary violence. 
 
 ' I have always thought so,' replied Mr. Shirley. ' Ama- 
 teur sinners are much more interesting.' 
 
 The two were alone together in the billiard-room at 
 Abbotsbury, the remainder of the men having gone to 
 bed, leaving them to finish their game. 
 
 Lord Redman spotted the red and continued his break. 
 
 * I wish you would tell my respected grand mother-in- 
 law so,' he said presently, with a slight laugh. 
 
 ^ I am afraid it would have no effect,' remarked Mr. 
 Shirley. 'Lady Merton regards me as the most profes- 
 sional of sinners. I believe that she would like to sprinkle 
 me with holy- water. But why are you annoyed with 
 her?' 
 
 ' Because she is unable to forget her profession,' an- 
 swered Lord Redman. 
 
 Mr. Shirley shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 * She has a reputation to keep up,' he said dryly. 
 
 ' I wish tliat she would give herself a holiday at Ab- 
 botsbury,' replied Lord Redman. ' "What an extraordi- 
 nary thing religion is, Xed ! ' he continued. ' Why can't 
 people let each other alone about it, and not think that 
 
72 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 they are the only ones on terras of particular intimacy 
 with the Almighty?' 
 
 ' For a very simple reason : The Almighty is everyone's 
 own particular creation. The man who makes the pup- 
 pet surely has the right to pull the wires.' 
 
 Walter Redman laughed. 
 
 ^ Oh,' he returned, ' I know that you are a hopeless 
 person to talk to on these subjects. You are on so serene 
 a level of ' 
 
 ^ Of what?' 
 
 ^ Well, upon my word, I hardly know ! Atheism, I 
 suppose.' 
 
 ' By no means,' said Mr. Shirley emphatically. ' There 
 is no such thing as atheism in the world. Those who 
 profess it make a deity of themselves ; and this deity 
 which they make is neither more nor less a true god 
 than the deity of the Churches. He remains pitiably 
 human.' 
 
 ' I am afraid you have been giving Lady Merton some 
 
 of your sentiments.' 
 
 'No; I never talk about these things to strangers. 
 Lady Merton attacked me on the subject of my writings 
 yesterday. I told her that, as they had been placed upon 
 the Index, I was surprised she had read them.' 
 
 'What did she say?' 
 
 'Well,' replied Mr. Shirley, smiling. 'I don't think 
 she liked the remark. She told me, however, that she 
 had a dispensation to read works condemned by the Con- 
 gregation of the Index. It was a privilege, so she assured 
 me, granted to her as a student and writer on questions 
 of faith.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 73 
 
 'Lady Mertoii has a very vivid imagination,' said 
 
 Walter. 
 
 ' So I have always understood. I suppose that many 
 very religious people have. I soon learned, however, that 
 she had not availed herself of her dispensation so far as I 
 was concerned, but only of her imagination. lias she been 
 complaining of me ? ' added Mr. Shirley, laughing. 
 
 'Of you? No; but of me for exposing her grand- 
 daughter to such dangerous influences as those which she 
 thinks you exercise. Shall I be frank with you, Ned? 
 My relations-in-law have made a little scene. They say 
 that I purposely kept my wife in ignorance of the fact that 
 you are, as they express it, an infidel writer, and that I am 
 interfering with her faith, in an indirect but none the less 
 subtile manner, by bringing her into contact with people 
 holding your views.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley smiled. ' Under the circumstances,' he said, 
 ' the best thing I can do is to remove my dangerous per- 
 son from your house as soon as possible.' 
 
 Walter Redman's face assumed the determined expres- 
 sion characteristic of some of the family portraits at 
 Abbotsbur}^ 
 
 'No!' he replied decidedly. 'No, Ned. You will 
 oblige me very much by doing nothing of the sort.' 
 
 ' But Lady Redman ' 
 
 ' Is not her grandmother. My wife has not alluded to 
 the subject to me, nor I to her.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley was silent for a few moments. 
 
 ' Lady Redman does not appear to me to be — well, a 
 bigoted person,' he said presently. ' I have been rather 
 surprised, knowing the surroundings in which she must 
 
74 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 have been brought up, to find a certain breadth of vision 
 in her. We have had some conversation together, and she 
 interested me very much. Your wife is a person who 
 thinks, Walter.' 
 
 Walter Redman shrugged his shoulders a little im- 
 patiently. 
 
 ^ Yes,' he answered, ^ she thinks. But does it not strike 
 you as unfortunate that circumstances should oblige her to 
 be silent to her husband concerning her thoughts on cer- 
 tain matters ? ' 
 
 ' The circumstances apply equally to yourself.' 
 
 ' They do, and that is the worst of it. Our damned re- 
 ligions stand in the way of any interchange of ideas on the 
 more serious things of life.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley looked keenly at his companion. He was 
 not a married man himself, nor even one who had experi- 
 enced the necessity of the presence in his life of another 
 mind with which his own could freely mingle. He had 
 sought for his intercommunion of ideas rather among 
 his books and his studies than among beings of flesh and 
 blood. Nevertheless, his knowledge of human nature, and 
 a certain quick sympathy with its needs and cravings which 
 a profound observation of humanity had caused him to 
 possess, gave him an instant clue to the state of mind 
 which he was convinced had prompted Walter Redman's 
 last remark. 
 
 ^ Already,' he said to himself ' As Lady Redman has 
 made no objection to my being a guest in her house, I 
 should certainly not wish to curtail my visit,' he observed, 
 after a pause. ^ To do so would be to admit the right of 
 others to interfere between you and your wife.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 75 
 
 Lord Redman nodded. 
 
 * I am glad that you understand,' he said. 
 
 Mr. Shirley went to a little table, and mixed himself a 
 whisky-and-soda with some deliberation. 
 
 ' My dear Walter,' he said, ' it is always a delicate 
 matter, even for an old friend, to talk to a man about 
 his wife, but you have in a manner encouraged me to 
 do so.' 
 
 ' Go ahead, and don't apologize, Ned ! ' said Lord 
 Redman, knocking the balls about the billiard-table. 
 
 ' Well, to speak plainly, I think that you are uncon- 
 sciously drifting into a rather critical position. In the 
 first place, you have married a woman who is very fond 
 of you.' 
 
 * As I am of her.' 
 
 ' I know it. You both of you thought when you 
 married that your mutual affection would neutralize con- 
 flicting opinions upon what are called religious matters. 
 It doesn't.' 
 
 ' It should do so, were it not for outside interference, 
 which, as you implied just now, cannot be admitted.' 
 
 ' No — pardon me — it will do nothing of the kind. It 
 will have the reverse effect.' 
 
 ' What do you mean, Ned ? ' 
 
 ' Precisely what I say. Your very love for each other 
 will create the critical position for you both in which you 
 \vill find yourselves placed before long. The outside 
 interference to which you allude will merely be a second- 
 ary factor in the bringing about of that position. Take 
 my advice, Walter : should difficulties arise between you, 
 look in the right quarter if you wish to discover both 
 
76 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 their origin and their solution, but do not expect to find 
 the latter in your love for each other.' 
 
 ^ Then where should I look for it ? ' 
 
 ' In yourself partly, but principally, unless I am much 
 mistaken, in your wife.' 
 
 'Is not that something of a truism?' asked Walter, 
 smiling. 
 
 ' I believe not. Lady Redman is a woman who, sooner 
 or later, will think for herself. Up to now others have 
 thought for her ; that is the system of Roman Catholicism 
 — the system which has kept the nations which are 
 under its influence at a dead-level of ignorance and 
 intellectual stagnation, even though individuals belonging 
 to those nations have emancipated themselves from its 
 yoke.' 
 
 'But you are going too fast, Ned,' objected Lord 
 Redman. 'You assume that Hilda has a desire to 
 exercise her own private judgment. I should be very 
 glad to think that the necessity for doing so would ever 
 present itself to her. I am afraid, on the contrary, that 
 the old hereditary ties and influences will be strong 
 enough to crush any incipient desire which she might 
 have to think for herself. It may be my imagination,' he 
 continued, lighting a fresh cigar, ' but during the last few 
 days, since her family have been round her, I have thought 
 that Hilda seemed a little grave and preoccupied, as 
 though something were troubling her. I should not have 
 regarded it, probably, had it not been that, as I told you. 
 Lady Merton considered it necessary to expostulate with 
 me on your presence here, and to tell me that Hilda 
 should have been informed that you were — yourself. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 77 
 
 She even went so far as to hint that I was not acting 
 up to my promises not to interfere with her grand- 
 daughter's religion, and Lady Gwendolen agreed with 
 her.' 
 
 ^But Lady Redman?' asked Mr, Shirley. *You say 
 that she has said nothing to you of all this ? ' 
 
 ^ Not a word. But, putting two and two together, it 
 is i)robable that these women have been talking to her, 
 and if so, that would account for the worried look I have 
 noticed in her face during the last day or two.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley smiled. 
 
 'I think,' he said, Hhat Lady Redman took the first 
 step towards liberty of thought when she decided to 
 marry you. I remember you told me how greatly opposed 
 her family were to the idea, and that in spite of this 
 opposition she persisted in her determination.* 
 
 ' Yes ; but without Lady Morton's assistance the mar- 
 riage would never have taken place. That is the odd 
 part of it,' added Walter. ^ She smoothed away all the 
 difficulties which the Cawardens made before sanctioning 
 our engagement, and now that we are married it looks 
 very much as though she were the first person on my 
 wife's side to ti7 and make mischief. As for my not 
 having told Hilda all about you, that is a ridiculous 
 grievance to bring forward. I did not do so because I 
 should have had to talk upon subjects which we were 
 both pledged to avoid. Moreover,' continued Lord Red- 
 man, ^ if my wife chose to invite a Bishop to Abbotsbury 
 I should have no objection. We are each absolutely free 
 so far as the choice of our friends is concerned.' 
 
 ' From all I have ever heard of Lady ^lerton,' obser\^ed 
 
78 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Mr. Shirley, ^I should say that she has invariably kept 
 one eye upon the next world and the other upon eldest 
 sons in this. I am not at all surprised at her having 
 done her best to further your engagement. She allowed 
 one of her daughters to marry that drunken brute, Wear- 
 mouth. A mother who could have done that would give 
 her daughter to any man who had enough to offer.' 
 
 * But the Duchess of Wearmouth was not a Catholic. 
 I do not see her motive for worrying Hilda now that 
 we are married/ persisted Walter. 
 
 ' It is because you are married,' returned Mr. Shirley 
 
 briefly. 
 
 Lord Redman swore a little oath under his breath. 
 
 ' Well; he said, ' I mean to put a stop to anything of 
 that kind at the beginning. Hilda was perfectly happy 
 till her relations came here, and, let alone, she would be 
 so always.' 
 
 ' Are you so sure of that ? ' 
 
 ^ As sure as I am of my own happiness.' 
 
 ' I think you are mistaken,' replied Mr. Shirley quietly, 
 'and if I were you I should not attempt to interfere 
 between your wife and her family.' 
 
 ' But that is absurd, my dear fellow.' 
 
 ' Not so absurd as it seems. We have agreed that Lady 
 Redman is a woman who thinks on certain matters ? ' 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 ' Well, let her think.' 
 
 ' I don't know what you are driving at, Ned.' 
 
 ' I will try to explain. Your wife is not like her aunt, 
 the Duchess of Wearmouth ; she married you because 
 she loved you. It is evident that Lady Merton's world- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 79 
 
 lincss could liavc had no influence over her in her choice 
 of a husband.' 
 
 * No, I am thankful to say.' 
 
 'But yet,' continued Mr. Shirley, 'Lady Merton in a 
 way brought about your marriage. I am afraid, Walter,' 
 he continued, with an amused look, ' that her ladyship's 
 other eye was upon you — the heavenly one, I mean. 
 She had marked you down for conversion, hence her good- 
 will towards her grand-daughter's affection for you.' 
 
 Walter burst out laughing. 
 
 ' But, my dear fellow, nothing could have been clearer 
 than my explanations on that subject. The whole family, 
 including Hilda herself, knew perfectly well that the 
 latter was not marrying a staunch Protestant who might 
 be converted, but a nondescript kind of article like 
 myself.' 
 
 ' That would make no diff'erencc. Indeed, it would be 
 a greater triumph for the Church to secure you. Listen 
 to me, Walter. Let your wife think. The more her 
 Catliolic relations attempt to interfere with her, the 
 more she will be divided between her love for you and 
 her wish to be loyal to your mutual compact on the one 
 side, and her devotion to her Church on the otiier. Any 
 endeavour on your part to combat their interference 
 would weaken your position. Remember tliat Lady Red- 
 man will have to struggle against very complex feelings. 
 Who knows that this mental struggle has not already 
 begun — that it did not begin, indeed, directly you were 
 man and wife ? She is a Catholic, fresh from the peculiar 
 psychological surroimdings of that religion. You are not 
 dealing with her mind as yet; you are dealing with a 
 
8o CASTING OF NETS 
 
 mould, fashioned partly by heredity, partly by the priests. 
 The belief in that God which the latter have created, and 
 in the supernatural beings around Him, is to her the 
 pivot of her existence. To please Him is to secure ever- 
 lasting happiness ; to offend Him, everlasting pain.' 
 
 * You are giving God a bad character,' said Lord Red- 
 man. 
 
 ' I am giving Him the character which the priests attrib- 
 ute to him,' returned Mr. Shirley. ' They are unable to 
 make a god except in their own image. He is not your 
 God, nor mine,' he added more gently ; ' but let that pass. 
 What I was going to say was : Think how cruel a depri- 
 vation it must be, to a mind thus trained, to be debarred 
 from all intercourse on such vital subjects with the being 
 it loves. Why it must be a deprivation even to you, 
 Walter;' and Mr. Shirley gave his companion a quick, 
 penetrating glance, which, nevertheless, had something 
 very kindly in its expression. 
 
 Lord Redman did not meet his gaze. ' You ought to 
 be a married man, Ned,' he said, with a short laugh. 
 
 Mr. Shirley lighted a candle preparatory to going up- 
 stairs to his room. 
 
 ' It is rather presumption on my part to offer you advice 
 as to how to conduct your own domestic affairs/ he re- 
 plied, witli a smile. 
 
 ^ I believe that your advice is very sound,' said Walter. 
 ' I am not sure,' he added slowly, ' but I think so. Time 
 will show.' 
 
 'Yes, time will show. But, in the meanwhile, be 
 patient, Walter. You will have to watch the struggle 
 going on in your wife's mind. Devoted to her Church, 
 
CASTING OF NETS 8i 
 
 and believing, as the priest and her edueation have taught 
 her, that in it ak)ne is to be found the Divine truth, the 
 consciousness that her husband is outside that Church 
 \n\\ be an ever-present sorrow to her. Devoted to you, 
 learning every day to know you better, and to realize that 
 your happiness and peace of mind are not dependent 
 upon dogmatic faith, she will shrink from the responsibil- 
 ity of introducing disturbing elements into that happiness/ 
 
 ^But if the action of others compels her to place 
 the supposed interest of my soul before any other con- 
 sideration ? ' 
 
 jMr. Shirley paused in his walk towards the door of the 
 billiard-room. 
 
 * Ah ! ' he replied slowly, ^ that will be the crisis of the 
 struggle. We are hardly able to determine the force of 
 the influences which may be brought to bear upon your 
 wife. Remember that behind her may be ranged all that 
 subtle psychological power which the Roman Church so 
 well knows how to wield — the exploitation of that ener- 
 vating fear of the unknown which is implanted, in a greater 
 or less degree, in us all. There is one force, and one only, 
 which may neutralize, and eventually overpower, the lat- 
 ter, but the process will be a very disturbing one. Not 
 the least conflicting element in it will be that very one to 
 which you have both of you looked as a certain resolvent 
 of all your difficulties.' 
 
 ' I understand,' said Walter, ^ but, if I am not mistaken, 
 you began by saying that I was not to look to this element 
 for a solution of any problems which might arise in our 
 lives owing to the fact of Hilda being a Catholic and my- 
 self a nominal Protestant.' 
 
 6 
 
82 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' You are not mistaken ; I did say so. The solution, if 
 it comes at all, will do so through the gradual emancipa- 
 tion of your wife's powers of thought and judgment from 
 the ties by which they have hitherto been bound. Your 
 mutual love will be an all-important factor in promoting 
 this emancipation, but, in the first instance, it will retard 
 it. The influences which will be at work upon Lady Red- 
 man will quickly seize upon her love and make it serve 
 their own end. That is why I preach patience to you,' 
 added Mr. Shirley — 'patience and reliance, not upon 
 afibction only, but still more upon that emancipation from 
 mental bondage without which Lady Redman's love could 
 only have the eff"ect of widening the gulf that you both feel 
 exists between you.' 
 
 Lord Redman looked at his friend attentively. 
 
 ' What leads you to suppose this ? ' he asked after a 
 pause. ^ You have only been three or four days in the 
 house with Hilda — not long enough to have learned so 
 much of her character.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley smiled. 
 
 ^You have put two and two together about Lady 
 Merton,' he replied, 'and I have done the same thing 
 about Lady Redman. As I told you, we have had some 
 conversation together, and, though of course she did not 
 talk to me about these things, I believe I have some sort 
 of idea as to her state of mind. Besides, your cousin, Mrs. 
 Russell, has spoken a good deal to me of Lady Redman. 
 It appears that they are great friends, and I think per- 
 haps the latter has felt she could speak more freely to 
 Mrs. Russell on certain matters than to anybody else at 
 Abbotsbury.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 83 
 
 ' Well,' said Walter, * I suppose things will settle them- 
 selves somehow, but I don't like to feel that all these old 
 women, egged on by their confessors, may be putting their 
 heads together to make my wife unhappy, hoping thereby 
 to make a Catholic of me. I will take your advice, how- 
 ever, and do nothing. Come Ned,' he added, turning out 
 the lights over the billiard-table, *let us go to bed, and 
 send dogma to the devil, with whom I verily believe it 
 originates.' 
 
 The two men went upstairs together, and Lord Redman 
 bade Mr. Shirley good-night and went to his own rooms. 
 
 Mr. Shirley sat himself down opposite the fire in his 
 bedroom, which the keen frost without was causing to 
 glow hot and fiercely. 
 
 * Walter will need all his skill to steer a safe course 
 ahead,' he said to himself. ' The priests have their eyes 
 upon Abbotsbury, and they won't care about having to 
 wait until Walter's son succeeds, if he has one. The 
 
 son Ah ! there 's where the rub will come, though 
 
 it was no good saying anything to Walter about it now. 
 " Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." ' And then 
 he fell into a meditation. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE ball given to the tenantry and principal employes 
 of the Abbotsbury estate concluded the round of 
 Christmastide festivities at which Lord and Lady Redman 
 had so hospitably entertained their neighbours of every con- 
 dition of life. The Barons' Hall blazed with the light of 
 innumerable wax-candles ; garlands of holly and mistletoe 
 adorned the dark oaken roof, and twined between its 
 massive beams and rafters ; while King John, pen in hand, 
 with the scroll of Magna Charta before him, scowled upon 
 the varied throng of dancers on the floor beneath. 
 
 The upper domestics of Abbotsbury moved pompously 
 through the crowd, fearful lest they should lose for a 
 moment the sense of their own dignity and importance 
 by mingling with their subordinates, their whole manner 
 clearly expressing the fact that their affability was a tribute 
 to the exigencies of the occasion, and was not to be pre- 
 sumed upon or misinterpreted. The trades-people of Trent- 
 ford, sleek and prosperous-looking, with black coats closely 
 buttoned, and tight shoes written all over their counte- 
 nances, stood by their wives and watched their daughters 
 going ' down the middle and up again ' with the young 
 farmers in ^ The Triumph,' or threading the intricate mazes 
 of the 'Corn Riggs.' Then there were groups of local 
 clergy and their better halves, and the local representatives 
 
CASTING OF NETS 85 
 
 of law, finance, and medical science. Wandering from one 
 to the other of these groups was the wife of the well-to-do 
 draper in the market-place, who had built himself a villa 
 on the Stafford Road, which, on the strength of two 
 recently-planted Wellingtonias, bore the name of * The 
 Ehns ' painted in (jothic characters on its front gate. 
 * My pa,' Mrs. Greensmith was in the habit of informing 
 her acquaintances, ' was a medical man ' ; and so, on public 
 occasions, she made a point of asserting her right to enter 
 the professional circles of Trentford. 
 
 The guests who most thoroughly enjoyed themselves 
 were undoubtedly those to whom the social ambitions 
 of Trentford and the etiquette of the housekeeper's room 
 were matters of secondary importance. The tenants and 
 the outdoor servants of Abbotsbury came to the ball with 
 the firm intention of spending a cheerful evening, and they 
 succeeded in doing so. 
 
 Mr. Tomlinson, the dissenting farmer, to be sure, had 
 scruples of conscience as to whether the act of dancing 
 were not a confession to concupiscence; nevertheless, his 
 face beamed with pride and pleasure when, at the com- 
 mencement of the proceedings, Lady Redman came up to 
 him and said that she hoped he would dance the opening 
 country dance with her. He compromised with Satan by 
 making no attempt at steps, for which his partner was 
 grateful ; but the compromise necessitated an awkward 
 run with his hostess ^down the middle and up again* 
 through tlie double line of the dancers, on the execution 
 and effect of which Hilda had afterwards to receive the 
 sarcastic compliments of her husband and the party stay- 
 ing in the house. 
 
86 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * It is very unfortunate/ said Mr. Russell to his wife, 
 as they watched the scene, * that the Tomlinsons should 
 be placed in such a prominent position. It is hard upon 
 the Church people to see dissenters being put over their 
 heads. I wish Redman would recognise the necessity in 
 these days of supporting the claims of the Established 
 Church.' 
 
 * He has n't taken them into consideration in choosing 
 his wife, so I don't see why you expect him to do so in 
 minor details,' replied Mrs. Russell in an undertone. 
 
 * I have nothing to say against Lady Redman,' returned 
 the Rector. * I must confess that she conducts herself 
 admirably. It is a very strange thing, but I often think 
 that she shows more anxiety to promote the influence of 
 her husband's religion in the parish than her husband him- 
 self does. What do you think of all these Roman Catho- 
 lics, Mary,' he added, ^ now that you have seen more of 
 them?' 
 
 * I think them charming,' answered Mary Russell, ' espe- 
 cially Lady Merton. I like Lady Gwendolen, too, very 
 much ; but Lady Merton is delightful — so interesting to 
 talk to, and such a grande dame ! ' 
 
 The Rector laughed pleasantly. 
 
 * Be careful, my dear,' he said. ' She has a great repu- 
 tation for making converts — at least, so Mr. Shirley tells 
 me.' 
 
 ^ I hope, James,' replied Mrs. Russell with dignity, ' that 
 I am not so weak in my religion as to be perverted by the 
 first Romanist whom I happen to find an agreeable person.' 
 
 Her husband glanced at her with some surprise. 
 
 ^ Of course not,' he said, smiling. ^ I was only joking. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 87 
 
 I know you have a horror of them all, as far as their 
 doctrine is concerned — more so, indeed, than 1 have — 
 eh, Mary?' 
 
 Mrs. Russell hesitated a little. 
 
 * One understands people's ideas better when one has 
 been brought into contact with them,' she replied. ' Cer- 
 tainly they believe in some things wliich I could never 
 accept as truth — never,' she repeated decidedly, ' but ' 
 
 * They are not so black as they are painted,' interrupted 
 the Rector. ^ That,' he continued, * I have always held. 
 Individual Roman Catholics, however, are one thing, and 
 Romanism is another. It is the system which is anti- 
 Scriptural and altogether abominable.' 
 
 Mary Russell did not reply, and at that moment Lady 
 Merton approached them. 
 
 ' I think I have done my duty,' she said to Mrs. Rus- 
 sell, with a' little smile. ^I have talked about the 
 weather, prize stock, and babies, and I have danced a 
 quadrille with the butler. Shall we leave this perspir- 
 ing humanity for a little while, and go and sit down in 
 one of the other rooms? There is always a moment at 
 these entertainments when the odour of hair-oil becomes 
 oppressive.' 
 
 Mary Russell was quite ready to do so, and the two 
 wandered through the various drawing-rooms together, 
 until they eventually found themselves in the gallery, 
 which, save for two or three couples who were looking 
 at the pictures and the ornaments which it contained, 
 was deserted. 
 
 Lady INIerton sat down in an armchair by one of the 
 fireplaces at the further end of the room. 
 
88 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' These functions are always tiring/ she said. ' Every- 
 one feels they must talk, and no one quite knows what 
 to talk about.' 
 
 ' For an outsider they must be not only tiring but tire- 
 some as well/ replied Mary Russell. 'Of course, when 
 one knows all the people's home-life and interests it 
 makes it much easier.' 
 
 'Naturally/ said Lady Merton. 'At Ware/ she con- 
 tinued, ' we had a ball of this kind every year ; but it 
 was not given upon this scale. I must say that every- 
 thing is done en prince at Abbotsbury. It is very sat- 
 isfactory to see how popular your cousin is with all the 
 people here.* 
 
 ' Oh yes, he is popular, certainly,' replied Mrs. Russell. 
 * You know. Lady Merton, a Redman would have to be 
 a very bad specimen of his race not to be popular about 
 here. There is a great feeling for the family in this part 
 of the county. I must say,' she added, ' Walter deserves 
 his popularity. He is a most kind and just landlord/ 
 
 ' How nice ! ' said Lady Merton absently ; and then 
 she gave Mrs. Russell one of her exploratory glances. 
 'And Hilda? I hope she is liked also. She seems to 
 be having a great success to-night.' 
 
 ' I am sure that she already shares Walter's popularity,' 
 
 answered Mary Russell. ' But ' she added, and then 
 
 she stopped abruptly. 
 
 'Ah!' said Lady Merton. 'I know what you were 
 going to say. The difference of religion naturally makes 
 her position a little difficult. These divisions are so sad, 
 so unnecessary. If people would only read their Bibles 
 and believe, everyone would be united.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 89 
 
 * Their Bibles ? ' repeated Mrs. Russell. 
 
 ' Certainly — their Bibles,' said Lady Merton. There 
 was the faintest touch of asperity in her voice, for Mary 
 Russell's question had in it an accent of surprise and in- 
 credulity. ' My grand-daughter tells me,' she continued, 
 ' that you are interested in our holy religion, Mrs. Russell. 
 I am sure that, in the present unhappy state of her hus- 
 band's mind regarding such matters, it is a great comfort 
 to Hilda to have anybody like yourself to whom she 
 can sometimes talk on these things, even though, unfor- 
 tunately, you are not one of us.' 
 
 ' I am interested — yes. But, Lady Merton, Hilda will 
 have told you that I am a strong believer in my own 
 Church.' 
 
 ' She told me that you were very prejudiced,' replied 
 Lady Merton; ^but, then, prejudice is so often the result 
 of ignorance.' From anybody else's lips but Lady Merton's 
 these words would have sounded discourteous, but the 
 gentle and deprecatory tone in which they were spoken 
 made it impossible for Mary Russell to feel offended. 
 ' You must remember, my dear Mrs. Russell, that I was 
 once a Protestant myself, so I know better than most 
 people how true my words are,' she continued. 
 
 Mary Russell was silent. Of late more than one of her 
 pet prejudices had turned out to be born of ignorance. 
 
 ' I am glad,' she said, after a pause, during which Lady 
 Merton sat and watched her quietly, ' that Hilda finds it 
 some relief to talk to me. I am often sorry for her, for I 
 can understand that it must be trying to her to feel that 
 she and her husband are so opposed to each other on 
 spiritual matters.' 
 
go CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' It is very sad/ said Lady Merton, sighing. ' Poor dear 
 Hilda ! Her letters have been full of anxiety concerning 
 her husband's state of mind. She feels it acutely, but it 
 is very difficult for us to help her. You see, any attempt 
 on our part to do so would be immediately to lay ourselves 
 and her open to the suspicion that we were trying to con- 
 vert him.' 
 
 ' But surely,' said Mrs. Russell wonderingly, ' that 
 Walter should join your Church is what you would all 
 wish?' 
 
 Lady Merton laughed — a soft, musical little laugh. 
 
 ' My dear,' she replied, ' when you know us Catholics 
 better you will realize that the idea that we are always 
 striving after conversions is another of your prejudices. 
 The grace to find the truth does not come from us — it 
 comes from God. Conversions are brought about not, as 
 our enemies would have it, by personal influence, but by 
 the free exercise on the part of the convert of his or her 
 powers of reason, directed, as I have just said, by the 
 grace of God. All that we who possess the inestimable 
 privilege and blessing of being within the Churcli can do 
 is to extend a helping hand to those without by endeavour- 
 ing to dispel their ignorance of the Church's doctrines, if 
 they require such assistance of us. We are merely instru- 
 ments of the Divine Will, acting, it may be quite uncon- 
 sciously, to further the Divine ends.' 
 
 ^ I did not know ' began Mrs. Russell. 
 
 Her companion interrupted her. 
 
 ' No,' she said gently ; ' of course you did not know. 
 We Catholics, alas ! are well accustomed to be judged by 
 people who do not know, as our Master was. But do not 
 
CASTING OF NETS 91 
 
 let us drift into a discussion on these points,' continued 
 Lady JNIerton. ^ What I wanted to say to you has nothing 
 to do with this subject, except very indirectly. I think, 
 Mrs. llussell, that it is in your power to be of great ser- 
 vice both to your cousin and to liis wife.' 
 
 '1 am afraid that I do not see how,' replied Mary 
 Russell ; ' for, as you say, I am not one of you.' 
 
 ' That is the very reason.' 
 
 * How do you mean. Lady Merton ? ' 
 
 'Hilda can talk to you freely — all the more freely, 
 perhaps, because you are of the same Church to which 
 her husband nominally belongs. Nobody could suppose 
 that you, the wife of the Rector of Abbotsbury, were 
 attempting to convert Lord Redman to Catholicism if 
 you tried to make him understand how greatly Hilda is 
 grieving over his materialism, and at the thought that 
 he is surrounded by such dangerous friends as Mr. 
 Shirley, for instance.' 
 
 'But Hilda has never confided her anxieties to me,' 
 objected Mary Russell. ' I feel sure that she is supremely 
 happy. I confess I have sometimes wondered that she 
 does not seem to mind the fact of her husband being of 
 a different religion from her own.' 
 
 'Ah!' rephed Lady Merton. 'If it were really a 
 religion, if Walter were truly a member of your Church, 
 it would be very different. Under these circumstances, 
 Hilda, as a Catholic, might regi'et that he should profess 
 an alien creed, but she w^ould not have the grief of feeling 
 that he had practically no belief at all.' 
 
 ' But are you sure this grieves her so much ? ' 
 
 'Too sure! The poor child's letters to her mother 
 
92 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 and myself contain nothing but expressions of her earnest 
 longing that her husband may be brought to have some 
 religious faith. She feels very bitterly the fact of being 
 unable to discuss such things with him without exciting 
 his suspicions that she is aiming at converting him to 
 her Church.' 
 
 ^If Hilda had ever talked to me about Walter, it 
 would be very much easier for me to try and give him 
 a hint as to what was troubling her,' said Mrs. Russell. 
 
 'She naturally might not like to mention the subject 
 to you/ replied Lady Merton. 'Of course, to her own 
 family she feels she can do so, and that we, as Catholics, 
 would be able to sympathize with her in her distress of 
 mind.' 
 
 ' Tell me what I can do, dear Lady Merton,' said Mary 
 Russell warmly. 'I am afraid that neither I nor my 
 husband have any influence over Walter. We are very 
 good friends, but I suppose that we have tacitly agreed 
 not to embark in religious questions, for the latter are 
 never mentioned between us.' 
 
 Lady Merton considered for a few moments before 
 replying. 
 
 'Well,' she answered at length, 'I think you have it 
 in your power to do a good deal. I am not asking you 
 to further Lord Redman's conversion to Catholicism. As 
 I have already said, conversions are the work of God, 
 not of individuals. Will you allow an old woman to be 
 very frank with you, Mrs. Russell ? ' 
 
 'Please.' 
 
 'Be a friend to Hilda. One woman can do so much 
 for another. Try to impress upon her that it is her 
 
CASTING OF NETS 93 
 
 duty to rouse her husband from tlic lamentable state of 
 iudifference towards all faith into which he has fallen. 
 Even though she may never have spoken to you about 
 her feelings, she will listen more readily to you than she 
 would to one of her own family. You would supply, so 
 to speak, a neutral ground, upon which she and Walter 
 could meet — a channel through which they could com- 
 municate without fear of being misunderstood by one 
 another.' 
 
 * But Hilda might very naturally resent any such inter- 
 ference on my part. As I say, she has given me no 
 encouragement to offer her my advice or my sympathy. 
 She might ask what had led me to suppose that she needed 
 them, and I could hardly tell her that I was acting upon 
 your suggestion.' 
 
 ' Certainly not ! ' replied Lady Merton hastily. ' You 
 must never let her know that I have spoken to you on 
 the subject. Let her think that anything you say to her is 
 prompted by your own sympathy with her in a very trying 
 position. After all, you told me just now that you often 
 wondered she did not feel her husband's spiritual state 
 more keenly. Why should you not let her see that her 
 apparent indifference to it surprises and distresses you.' 
 
 ^ Well,' said Mrs. Russell, ' I will try. Heaven knows, 
 both James and I would be thankful to think that Walter 
 had some belief, which, you say, is Hilda's one anxiety. 
 She does not make a point of that belief being in all re- 
 spects the same as her own ? ' 
 
 'By no means,' replied Lady Merton. 'If you can 
 bring them both to feel that, even though the forms of 
 their faith may differ, a common basis of belief unites 
 
94 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 them, you will have done a great work. Their present 
 state of existence is deplorable, and you cannot imagine 
 how deeply poor Hilda feels it ; for, from what you tell 
 me, she has contrived to conceal her unhappiness from 
 you. Think over it, I entreat you, my dear Mrs. Russell, 
 and help us if you can ; but, above all things, never let 
 either Hilda or her husband know that you are acting on 
 any suggestion from me. I am sure that you quite under- 
 stand how fatal it would be to our hopes should they 
 suspect such a thing.' 
 
 ' You may rely upon me not to do that,' answered Mary 
 Russell. ^ It is very odd,' she continued, ' but do you 
 know, I always had quite a different idea of you Roman 
 Catholics. I believed that you ^^ compassed heaven and 
 earth to make one proselyte " ; but, since I have talked to 
 Hilda and you on these subjects, I begin to see that you 
 look at the spirit of belief, not merely at its external 
 forms.' 
 
 Lady Merton's eyes drooped. 
 
 ' Yes,' she said, ' you are right : we look to the spirit. 
 The power of directing that spirit into its true home is in 
 other hands than ours. Is your husband, the Rector, also 
 interested in these things ? ' she added suddenly. 
 
 Mrs. Russell smiled. 
 
 ' James is a High Churchman,' she replied ; * but noth- 
 ing extreme, and he is devotedly attached to his Church.' 
 
 ' Ah ! very anti-Catholic, I suppose ? ' 
 
 ' Anti-Roman,' said Mrs. Russell. 
 
 Lady Merton laughed. 
 
 ' Ah well, my dear/ she said, ' you will learn to appre- 
 ciate us better some day ; at least I don't know about 
 
CASTING OF NETS 95 
 
 your luisband, but I am sure that you will do so. You 
 will find that wc arc uot such very silly people after all. 
 Shall wc go back to the ball-room ? I suppose you ought 
 to return to your duties, and I shall go and look for Hilda, 
 to wish her good-night. It is time for old women like 
 me to be in bed.' 
 
 Dancing was going on with renewed vigour when Lady 
 Merton and Mary Russell returned to the Barons' Hall. 
 A plentiful supper had caused the last remnants of shy- 
 ness to disappear from among the guests, and even the 
 frigid exclusiveness of the upper servants had thawed 
 under the influence of roast beef and turkeys, haunches 
 of venison and a reckless mixture of port, sherry, and old 
 ale. Lord Redman's champagne had been contemptu- 
 ously declined by the majority of his tenants as 'nowt 
 but gas, which blows a man out and spoils his appetite.' 
 
 Walter himself, after dancing with the wives of his 
 principal tenants and the ladies of the magnates of Trent- 
 ford, and mingling among the company saying a cheery 
 word to everyone, had retired from the scene, and his 
 example had been followed by the majority of those 
 staying in the house. Lady Redman, however, and a 
 few of the younger members of the party had remained, 
 and Lady Merton and Mrs. Russell found her dancing 
 the Highland schottische with the Trentford doctor. As 
 they made their way towards her, many flattering and 
 kindly remarks passed upon her by those who were 
 watching the dancers fell upon their ears. 
 
 ' If all Papists be like my lady there,' one old dame 
 said to her companion as Hilda and her partner passed 
 them, ^ they can't be such a good-for-nothing lot after all.' 
 
96 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'Eh, deary me, Mrs. Lyons, but isn't it downright 
 awful to think of a real lady like she a-worshipping of 
 graven images, for all the world like them heathens in 
 foreign parts ! ' 
 
 'They do say,' replied the first speaker in a hoarse 
 whisper, 'as how all the children, if so be as there is 
 any, must be reared Papists, same as their mother.' 
 
 ' Well, well ! They 've queer ways, has the quality.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell laughed witli some embarrassment. She 
 and Lady Merton were standing behind the two women, 
 who had not noticed their proximity. 
 
 ' Yes see,' she said, ' Abbotsbury has its own way of 
 looking at things.' 
 
 ' So sad ! ' murmured Lady Merton ; ' and to think,' 
 she added, 'that the forefathers of these people were 
 Catholics, and that the poor things should be so ignorant 
 of the Faith of which they have been robbed.' 
 
 At this moment Lady Gwendolen came towards them. 
 
 'Why, mamma,' she said to her mother, 'I thought 
 you had gone to bed.' 
 
 ' I am on my way there,' answered Lady Merton. ' I 
 am just going to say good-night to Hilda, and then I will 
 come. You are not going to stay any longer, I suppose, 
 Gwen ? * 
 
 ' Oh no. I believe they will keep the ball up till five 
 
 o'clock.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen accompanied her mother upstairs, and 
 stayed for a few minutes in her sitting-room. 
 
 ' You must unfasten my gown at the back, Gwen/ said 
 Lady Merton. 'I can't get at it, and I told Spencer I 
 should n't want her.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 97 
 
 ' Where have you been for the Last half-hour? ' asked 
 Lady (hveiidulen, struggling with a knot. 
 
 ' In the gallery, talking to ^Irs. Russell. AVliat du 
 you think of her ? ' 
 
 * I don't know that I have thought much about her. 
 8hc Bcems a nice woman, but I never know what to talk 
 about to clergymen's wives. Hilda likes her very much, 
 I believe.' 
 
 ^Yes, it is very lucky that she does. Do you know, 
 Gwen,' added Lady Merton, 'I think that she is very 
 much interested in the Church.' 
 
 * Really? ' said Lady Gwendolen a little indifferently. 
 She had suffered in her time from her mother's converts. 
 
 Lady Merto;i Jiad a way of handing them over to the 
 Cawardens after conversion, to be introduced into Catho- 
 lic society. 
 
 * I am sure of it,'* continued Lady jNIerton, taking 
 off her diamonds. ^We had quite a long conversation 
 together.' 
 
 "You must tell Hilda,' said Lady Gwendolen, ^she 
 will be able to help her, if she really has any leanings 
 towards the Church.' 
 
 * No, Gwen ; Hilda must know nothing about it. Her 
 doing so might interfere with a little plan of mine/ replied 
 Lady Merton. 
 
 * But surely she is the very person who ought to be 
 told. She could do so much.* 
 
 ^ She ought to have plenty to do in trying to bring 
 about her husband's conversion, without undertaking 
 anybody else's,' Lady Merton answered decidedly. ' I 
 mean Mrs. Russell to be of use. Reallv, Hilda is too 
 
 7 
 
98 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ridiculously in love. Caunot you see, Gwen, that she 
 is sacrificing everything to the desire to keep up a kind 
 of perpetual honeymoon? I am glad to perceive that 
 our remonstrances have had the effect of making her 
 uneasy, but the thought that someone outside her own 
 family, and a Protestant, was scandalized at her quiet 
 acceptance of her husband's agnosticism would make 
 far more impression upon her than any objections of 
 ours.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen looked puzzled. 
 
 ' I don't see what use Mrs. Russell could be,' she said. 
 
 ' Perhaps not, but I do,' replied Lady Merton a little 
 irritably. ^ I have much more experience in these things 
 than you have, Gwen. It is owing to me that your 
 daughter is Lady Redman. If I had not taken the 
 matter in hand, Redman would have gone off in a huff, 
 and you would have married Hilda to one of your tire- 
 some young men with good names and second-rate man- 
 ners whom I always meet at Cawarden. I dare say they 
 would have said the rosary together before they went 
 to bed, and would have driven in the wagonette to Mass 
 on Sundays, but nothing more would have come of it in 
 this world.' 
 
 ' In this world, no.' 
 
 *My dear Gwen,' said Lady Merton, 'I really think 
 that you are a little short-sighted in the way you regard 
 things. We have to get through this world before we 
 can get into the next. If you owe it to me that Hilda 
 is tlie wife of a rich peer with a magnificent property, 
 instead of being the partner in the joys of one of your 
 Lancashire squireens, you will equally owe it to me that 
 
CASTING OF NETS 99 
 
 Iicr husbiiiul is eventually brouj^lit intu the Church. I 
 ueed hardly remind you tliat the gain to our cause in 
 England will be rather greater in this case than it would 
 have been had Hilda married one of your Catholic young 
 men and sunk into respectable insignificance.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen was silenced, as indeed, she had been 
 all her life when her mother reasoned with her on questions 
 of expediency. 
 
 ' But you have not told me what Mrs. Russell is to do/ 
 she said presently. 
 
 * iMrs. Russell/ replied Lady Merton, ^ can be utilized in 
 two ways. She can assist us in wakening Hilda to a 
 sense of her responsibilities towards her husband's soul 
 and of her duties towards the Churcli ; and she can also, 
 by reason of her position here, point out to Walter Red- 
 man that his attitude towards religion is a source of pain 
 and trouble to his wife.' 
 
 ^ But I don't believe that it is, mamma,' exclaimed Lady 
 Gwendolen, ' and neither do you ! ' 
 
 Lady Merton looked compassionately at her daughter. 
 The Duchess of Wearmouth had been much more amen- 
 able to reason. 
 
 ^I have told Mrs. Russell that it is,' she answered, 
 'and she will tell her cousin so.' 
 
 ^ And she will equally tell Hilda what she has learned 
 from you,' said Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 Lady ]\Ierton smiled indulgently. 
 
 * Oh no, my dear,' she replied, ' she will not. I had 
 foreseen that contingency. Leave the management of this 
 affair to me, Gwen. Hilda must be made to understand 
 that the time for dreaming is over, and that the moment 
 
loo CASTING OF NETS 
 
 for action has arrived. She and Walter have been mar- 
 ried five months/ Lady Merton added significantly. * We 
 may reasonably suppose that in a few more there will be 
 some result of the marriage.' 
 
 ^ No doubt/ said Lady Gwendolen ; * but what has that 
 to do with Walter's attitude to religion and Hilda's ap- 
 parent carelessness ? ' 
 
 * Evei-ything. Do you recollect Father Galsworthy's 
 reason for objecting to Walter's indifference to the condi- 
 tions imposed by tlie Church ? ' 
 
 ' Perfectly.' 
 
 ' Father Galsworthy was quite right. Supposing Hilda 
 has a son, Walter will begin to feel that those conditions 
 are more important than he imagined when he so readily 
 agreed to them. If he is under the impression that Hilda 
 is indifferent to the fact of his not being a Catholic, the 
 temptation to break his promises with regard to the bring- 
 ing up of the son who is to succeed him will be very strong. 
 He would not be the first Protestant who has made a 
 mixed marriage, and broken his word when brought face 
 to face with the necessity of seeing his children educated 
 as Catholics.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen looked troubled. 
 
 ' Ah ! ' she replied ; ^ I begin to sec what you mean. 
 But Mrs. Russell will not be likely to use her influence on 
 the side of our religion. Why should she ? ' 
 
 * She may be made to do so unconsciously,' said Lady 
 Merton. ' How often do we not see the interests of the 
 Church furthered by those who, unknown to themselves, 
 are the agents of God's will? In Mrs. RusselFs case, 
 however, I have great hopes that the part which she is 
 
CASTING OF ^[KtS: loi 
 
 called upon to phiy at Abbotsbiiry may iiltiniatcly lead to 
 her own conversion. At all events, my dear Owen, leave 
 tilings to me, and say nothing to Ilihla of what 1 have told 
 you. It is very important that both she and Walter should 
 be able to regard Mrs. Russell as quite independent in her 
 views. Mrs. Russell is fond of Hilda, and of course, she 
 is Walter's cousin. She may prove a great help to us, 
 and save her own soul into the bargain by being so ; for, 
 after all, she will be serving the Church. She is a person 
 I shall not lose sight of,' concluded Lady Mertou, as she 
 kissed her daughter and bade her good-night. ' I shall 
 try and get her to come to Ware for a few days. A 
 Catholic atmosphere has a marvellous effect upon a dissat- 
 isfied soul. All the same, it would not be advisable that 
 she should be converted just yet.' And she picked up her 
 diamonds, which she had laid upon the table, and retired 
 into her bedroom, as Lady Gwendolen left her and went 
 to her own apartment. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 EARLY in April Lord and Lady Redman went to 
 London, and took up their abode at the family 
 residence in St. James's Square. Lady Merton's prog- 
 nostications seemed as though they would shortly be 
 fulfilled, for Hilda's confinement was expected to^take 
 place before the close of the spring. During the weeks 
 which had elapsed between Christmas and Easter, Hilda 
 and her husband had remained quietly at home. The 
 latter found plenty of occupation in the affairs of the 
 property, and in hunting with the Meynell hounds, in 
 the heart of whose ' country ' Abbotsbury was situated. 
 Occasionally a few people had come and stayed with 
 them, but since the large gathering which had filled the 
 house at Christmas-time, Hilda had seemed to be disin- 
 clined to receive many guests. Walter Redman noticed 
 with some concern that the preoccupied and worried air 
 which he had first observed in his wife after the arrival of 
 her own relatives at Abbotsbury did not disappear when 
 they had departed, as he had hoped would be the case. 
 Indeed, as the days went by, it seemed to increase, and 
 her spirits were no longer so elastic and buoyant as they 
 had been during the first months of her married life. 
 
 Under any other circumstances Walter might have con- 
 soled himself Avith the reflection that the state of his 
 
CASTING OF NETS 103 
 
 wife's health wiuj answeniblc for the cluinge which he 
 could not but observe in her temperament. It was not 
 that she was less affectionate than before ; and the sweet- 
 ness of disposition which was one of her charms, and 
 whicli attracted even those who were brought into contact 
 with her for the first time, never deserted her. A casual 
 observer, and even, perhaps, an intimate acquaintance, 
 would not have noticed the change ; but Lord Redman 
 adored his wife, and the eyes of love are not to be de- 
 ceived. iNIindful of Mr. Shirley's counsel, and faithful 
 to his determination to test its efficacy, Walter forbore 
 to question Hilda as to what might be troubling her. 
 He affected to be unaware of the change in her, though 
 all the time he had no doubt as to the causes which were 
 contributing to it, and his feelings towards those whom 
 he fully believed to be responsible for it were the reverse 
 of charitable. 
 
 He was glad to see that the society of his cousin Mary 
 Russell was evidently a pleasure to Hilda. The two were 
 a great deal together, and Walter reflected that it was 
 very natural that they should be so. It was rather dreary, 
 he thought, for his wife to have no female society in a big 
 house like Abbotsbury, and it was very lucky that Mrs. 
 Russell should be close by, and that they should be such 
 good friends. 
 
 Walter often wished that Hilda would speak to him of 
 what was troubling her, but this she never did; and 
 tliough it would have been a relief to him had she broken 
 through her reserve, he honoured her the more for not 
 doing so, knowing the motive which prompted her 
 silence. 
 
I04 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 It had not escaped Lord Redman's observation that 
 his wife went much more often to the monastery church 
 at Abbotsbridge than she had formerly done. Hitherto 
 Hilda had contented herself with going to Mass on the 
 prescribed days, and occasionally to Vespers and Bene- 
 diction on Sunday afternoons. Now, however, her hus- 
 band frequently heard her ordering a carriage overnight 
 to take her to Abbotsbridge early the following morning, 
 and she would return as he was finishing his breakfast, 
 and tell him she had been to church. He knew that 
 Lent had commenced, and concluded that this fact would 
 account for her increased attendance to her religious 
 devotions, but it seemed to him that her preoccupation of 
 mind, and the worried expression on her face, were more 
 noticeable on these days than they were at other times. 
 As the weeks went by, he wondered whether these early 
 morning excursions to Abbotsbridge were not an impru- 
 dence on her part in her then condition, but he did not 
 expostulate with her on the subject. 
 
 Easter fell early that year, and as the last days of Lent 
 approached it became very evident to Walter that his 
 fears lest Hilda should over-fatigue herself were far from 
 being groundless. She looked pale, and at times unwell, 
 and he noticed, moreover, that she was very strict in her 
 observance of eating maigre on the days when meat was 
 forbidden by the Church, and thought she should be 
 dispensed from doing so. 
 
 Finally, he determined to confide his fears to Mary 
 Russell, and to ask her if she could not urge Hilda to be 
 more careful of herself. Any remarks on the subject, he 
 felt, would come much better from Mrs. Russell than 
 
CASTING OF NETS 105 
 
 from him, and Hilda could not think that they were 
 made with any view of interfering with that full liberty 
 to practise her religion which he had promised she should 
 always enjoy. 
 
 Full of his plan of taking Mary Russell into his con- 
 fidence, Walter had walked across to the Rectory one 
 morning when his wife had gone to her church, and had 
 found his cousin in her garden, discussing with the 
 gardener as to the grouping of the colours in the flower- 
 beds for the coming season. 
 
 ' I want to talk to you about Hilda, Mary,' he said, as 
 they walked up and down the terrace together. *I do 
 not feel quite satisfied about her.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell looked at him curiously. 
 
 ' In what way ? ' she asked. 
 
 ^ Well, I can hardly say,' he replied. ' I have thought 
 of late that she has not been in her usual good spirits. 
 No doubt,' lie added a little constrainedly, ^ it can easily 
 be accounted for, and that is my reason for coming to 
 you about it. I suspect that it is more a matter for a 
 woman's interference than a man's.' 
 
 ' I do not know, Walter. I am not sure,' began his 
 cousin hesitatingly. 
 
 ' I thought, perhaps, that you could say a word to her, 
 and beg her not to overtire herself by going so perpetually 
 to her church as she has been doing lately. I am sure 
 that going off" to Abbotsbridge before breakfast cannot be 
 good for her in her present condition. She would listen 
 to you more readily than to me.' 
 
 *I do not see why she should do so,' replied Mary 
 Russell. 
 
io6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' Oh, well, it is a little «awkward for me to say anything 
 to her/ said Walter. ^ You see, she might think I wished 
 to interfere with her devotions. Coming from you, she 
 could not feel that. Have you noticed that she has not 
 been looking well of late ? ' he added. 
 
 Mrs. Russell paused for a moment before replying. 
 
 ^ Yes,' she said at length, ^ I have. But, Walter, I 
 don't think that it is caused by any bodily ailment.' 
 
 * What else should cause it ? ' 
 
 ' I am afraid that she is troubled in her mind.' 
 
 ' My dear Mary ! what can she have to trouble her 
 mind?' 
 
 'You.' 
 
 Lord Redman looked at her. 
 
 ' Will you explain ? ' he said briefly. 
 
 'I have always been wanting to tell you,' answered 
 Mrs. Russell quickly. 'I wonder you have not guessed 
 at the cause of it before. Hilda is fretting about you, 
 Walter. She cannot bear the thought that you have no 
 religious belief. I know it has always troubled her 
 greatly, but it is natural that just now, in her present 
 state, the thought should distress her more than ever.' 
 
 * Has she told you so ? ' 
 
 Mrs. Russell turned aside and arranged a straggling 
 bunch of japonica, the red blossoms of which were just 
 coming into bloom. 
 
 ' Yes,' she replied. 
 
 Walter Redman was silent. 
 
 ' It is very natural,' repeated his cousin. * You should 
 put yourself in her place, Walter. Remember all that 
 religious faith means to her. We may think that Roman 
 
CASTING OF NETS 107 
 
 Catholics are in error, but we cannot deny that their faith 
 is a very real thing to them.' 
 
 'No one interferes with her faith.' 
 
 Mary Russell made a little movement of impatience. 
 
 * That is a regular man's remark/ she said. ^ We 
 women do not look upon our religion only as a matter of 
 personal advantage to ourselves ; we want those who are 
 near and dear to us to benefit by it also. It is this which 
 is distressing your wife. She is full of fear for the 
 future.' 
 
 'Let us put it plainly/ vsaid Walter. 'She believes 
 that she w411 go to heaven, and that I shall go to hell.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell looked shocked. 
 
 ' It is too serious a subject for flippancy/ she said stiffly. 
 
 ^ I do not intend any flippancy ; it is a plain statement 
 of facts.' 
 
 'Well/ replied Mrs. Russell, 'I suppose that it is; 
 but, being so, can you wonder if she is unhappy ? It is 
 not so much the thought of your being of another faith 
 which grieves her, as that you have no belief in the form 
 of religion which you nominally profess. Hilda does 
 not want to convert you to Catholicism, but she does 
 want to feel that you and she have a common faith in 
 Christianity.' 
 
 Lord Redman looked at his cousin somewhat search- 
 
 ingly. 
 
 ' Has she said as much to you ? ' he asked. 
 
 'No, she has never said so in words, but I am quite 
 sure it is the case. Of course, I do not pretend to be- 
 lieve that she could ever be thoroughly happy so long 
 as you were outside that which she naturally believes to 
 
io8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 be the only true Church. I understand that, when you 
 married, you pledged yourselves to respect your mutual 
 religions.' 
 
 ' That is true.' 
 
 * But you have no religion, Walter ; and, therefore, 
 Hilda is left with nothing to respect so far as that pledge 
 is concerned, and everything to fear for you. The cer- 
 tainty of this has gradually been growing in her mind, 
 and now it is beginning to tell upon her spirits, and per- 
 haps upon her health.' 
 
 ' But what would you have me do ? I do not suppose 
 that you, of all people, would suggest that I should turn 
 Catholic in order to allay fears which I regard as result- 
 ing from a deplorable misconception of the nature of the 
 Almighty ! ' 
 
 Mary Russell shook her head. 
 
 * No,' she replied, ' not unless you were convinced 
 of the truth of Roman Catholicism. If you were so, I 
 should say that it would be the best thing you could do. 
 You must recollect that you practically severed your con- 
 nection with the Church of your forefathers when you 
 married. Your descendants must be Roman Catholics, 
 so it would only be anticipating matters, so far as Ab- 
 botsbury is concerned, if you were one yourself.' 
 
 Walter Redman looked at her with surprise. Before 
 his marriage he had often heard his cousin speak of con- 
 verts to Rome in the terms of the strongest disapproval, 
 not to say contempt. The thought of how the news of 
 his engagement to a Catholic would be received at the 
 Rectory had troubled him not a little at the time, for he 
 had been afraid lest the prejudices of Mrs. Russell might 
 
CASTING OF NETS 109 
 
 have their cfTect upon the people of the place, to his 
 wife's disadvantage. He could only conclude that her 
 friendship with Hilda had caused her to take a more 
 liberal-minded view of Roman Catholicism generally, but 
 he had certainly not expected to hear her discussing the 
 possibility of his embracing it with so much equanimity. 
 
 ' Why, Mary,' he could not help saying to her, ^ you 
 surely have modified your opinions of late ? ' 
 
 ' I am sorry for Hilda,' Mrs. Russell replied, ignoring 
 the question. ^I do not think you realize how great a 
 trial it must be to her to see you in what her conscience 
 tells her is a very deplorable state, and what her Church 
 teaches her is a very perilous one. She is not a person 
 who is indifferent to such things, and I know that she 
 thinks deeply on these matters. It must be inexpressibly 
 painful to her to have to keep silence about them in order 
 not to appear faithless to a promise made to you before 
 marriage.' 
 
 They walked on for a few minutes without speaking. 
 Walter could not help being struck by the similarity 
 between Mary Russell's words and those which Mr. 
 Shirley had spoken. He did not feel the slightest doubt 
 that his wife had confided her troubles to Mrs. Russell, 
 and that the latter's remarks were the direct result of this 
 confidence. 
 
 'The promise was a mutual one, made with the object 
 of preventing any of those disagreeables which religious 
 opinions are so apt to produce in life,' Ijord Redman said, 
 a little satirically. ' The arrangement seemed to answer 
 very well during the first months of our marriage,' he 
 added, ' and I cannot understand why Hilda should 
 
no CASTING OF NETS 
 
 suddenly have become so sensitive on the subject, unless, 
 of course, some external influences are at work upon her. 
 I have, unfortunately, strong reason to believe that this is 
 the case, and that if, as you say, Hilda is worrying herself, 
 the fact is chiefly owing to interference on the part of some 
 of her family.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell shook her head decidedly. 
 
 * No, Walter,' she replied. * I am convinced that you 
 are wrong there. I feel sure that it is no external influ- 
 ence which is at work upon your wife, but something far 
 more powerful — namely, the internal promptings of her 
 conscience, supported by the traditional teaching of her 
 Church.' 
 
 Here Mary Russell spoke what she genuinely believed 
 to be the truth. 
 
 ' I must say,' she continued, ^ I think Hilda is wonder- 
 fully broad-minded, considering the school in which she 
 has been brought up. You jump to the conclusion that 
 nothing short of your embracing her faith would satisfy 
 her. I believe, as I have said before, that she would be 
 content with the knowledge that you accepted the religion 
 of your predecessors.' 
 
 * It is all the more fortunate for her that I do not do so.' 
 ' I do not see why. 
 
 * For a very simple reason. If I were a man with 
 decided opinions on those subjects, do you suppose that 
 it would be a pleasant thing to see myself forced to give 
 way to the arrogant claims of my wife's Church, and to 
 allow my children to be brought up in another creed to 
 my own? You know very well, Mary, what the tradi- 
 tions of our family are. You have only got to look 
 
CASTING OF NETS iii 
 
 round tlic walls of the church yonder to be reminded of 
 them.' 
 
 * Yes/ replied Mrs. Russell, ^ but remember that the 
 traditions you allude to are comparatively modern ones 
 in the family history. What would Sir Walter have 
 thought of them, and of your ideas?' 
 
 'I could argue that point with you also,' said Lord 
 Redman, smiling. * Even in pre-Reformation days the 
 Redmnns were always loyal Englishmen first and Catho- 
 lics afterwards, and they were among the earliest to reject 
 the claims of Rome. It seems,' he added, a little bitterly, 
 ' that it has been reserved for their latest representative 
 to submit to the latter.' 
 
 jVIary Russell glanced at him inquiringly. It was the 
 first remark which she had ever heard him make which 
 could have led her to suppose that he had any feeling for 
 the religious traditions of his house in the past. 
 
 ' However,' he continued, ' I did not come here to talk 
 about myself and my ideas, but about Hilda. Do you not 
 think you could try and persuade her not to trouble her- 
 self uimecessarily about all these things ? I am sure that 
 it is very bad for her just now to do so.* 
 
 ' She does not regard it as unnecessary, you see,' said 
 Mrs. Russell. 
 
 ' W^ell,' exclaimed Walter, in a tone of mingled amuse- 
 ment and impatience, ' I '11 be hanged if I can make you 
 religious people out ! You set up a deity, and no sooner 
 have you done so than you treat him as though he were 
 an absolute fool, and incapable of managing his own affairs. 
 At any rate, Mary,' he added, ' you might advise her, as you 
 say she talks to you, to leave things in the hands of Pro\'i- 
 
112 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 dence, at all events for the present. I notice that people 
 generally take that course when they don't choose to be 
 troubled. And if you could give her a hint not to let Lady 
 Merton and the priests worry her, it would be a good 
 thing. You could point out to her that she was much 
 happier before she began to allow all these ideas to disturb 
 Iier ; and for that matter, you might tell her that I was 
 much happier also. Perhaps, if she thought that, she 
 miijht not trouble herself so much about me.' 
 
 ' Well, Walter, I will see what I can do,' replied Mrs. 
 Russell ; 'but remember I think that it is perfectly natural 
 that Hilda should distress herself. The remedy lies in 
 your own hands. She may very reasonably consider that 
 if you really cared for her you would make some effort to 
 overcome your scepticism when you know that it is this, 
 and this alone, which is troubling her.' 
 
 * Do you think she could really suppose such a thing ? ' 
 asked Walter. 
 
 The idea had not struck him before, and it seemed to 
 add a fresh complication to his position. 
 
 ^She might very easily do so — in fact, I have little 
 doubt that this thought is adding to her trouble. After 
 all, it must be mortifying to her to feel that you are sur- 
 rounded by agnostics, such as Mr. Shirley, for instance, 
 whose views you are always ready to accept, and to whom 
 you can talk freely on all these questions, whereas to her 
 your lips are sealed. You give her no reason to suppose 
 that you are otherwise than indifferent to her peace of 
 mind. You see, I speak plainly,' added Mrs. Russell, ^as 
 you have asked me for my opinion.' 
 
 'Yes,' said Walter thoughtfully, 'you certainly do, and 
 
CASTING OF NETS 113 
 
 I might believe that you were right if it were not for ono 
 point upon whieh 1 am not quite clear.' 
 
 * And that is ? ' 
 
 * As to how nuich of Hilda's distress of mind is sponta- 
 neous and how nuieh is the result of suggestion. You 
 know as well as I do, Mary, how many subtile influences 
 can be brought to bear upon a Catholic who is devoted to 
 his or her religion, and your sex is generally supposed to 
 be the more open to such influences of the two.' 
 
 ' We are always told so, but those things are often very 
 much exaggerated. Unscrupulous people in any creed 
 can abuse the religious devotion of others. In this case, 
 however, I cannot see any grounds for such a suspicion.* 
 
 ' Perhaps not,' said Walter, ^ but it is a curious coinci- 
 dence that Hilda's frequent visits to Abbotsbridge seem 
 to have the effect, not of tranquillizing her mind, but 
 apparently of still further disturbing it. I have noticed 
 that she is invariably in lower spirits and looks more 
 worried after them, and I often wonder what is said to 
 her there. I never ask her any questions, but I conclude 
 that she has some special spiritual adviser among the 
 monks.' 
 
 *Yes,' replied Mary Russell, 'she has. She told me 
 that one of the Fathers at Abbotsbridge had been par- 
 ticularly recommended to her by an Oratorian priest in 
 London who is very intimate with her family.' 
 
 ' Ah ! Father Galsworthy probably.' 
 
 ^ I think that was the name she said. Of course it is 
 quite natural that she should have a confessor here, and 
 doubtless she consults him upon her difficulties.' 
 
 ' Of course ! ' 
 
 8 
 
114 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Lord Redman did not add any more, but the tone of 
 his voice expressed his thoughts eloquently enough. 
 
 Turning at the end of the terrace, they saw the Rector 
 approaching them from the house. He had seen them 
 from his study windows, and wondered what Lord Red- 
 man had come to talk about. As they were evidently 
 in earnest conversation, he had refrained from joining 
 them sooner. 
 
 ' Well, Mary,' said V/alter, as he drew near, * I hope 
 you will do your best to prevent Hilda from dwelling 
 too much upon her thoughts, whether they are her own 
 or other people's. It is evident that they are doing her 
 no good, and if things are as I cannot help suspecting, 
 it will surely not be an objectionable task to you to try 
 and counteract influences which could only succeed in 
 making us both unhappy. Your Protestant principles 
 ought to support you in so good a work,' he added, 
 smiling. 
 
 ^ I should not like to say anything which might appear 
 as though I were seeking to destroy Hilda's faith in her 
 Church,' said ISIrs. Russell. . 
 
 * Neither should I wish you to do so. All that I would 
 ask of you is to help her to protect herself against those 
 who may be seeking to abuse her faith and employ it as 
 a means to securing their own ends. Ah ! Russell, good- 
 morning. Mary and I have been having a little talk 
 about my wife's health. We are off* to London, you 
 know, very soon. Great nonsense, I call it, leaving the 
 country just as spring has come; but we are slaves to 
 
 fashion ' 
 
 ^ And to doctors,' said the Rector, with a smile. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 115 
 
 ^ Oh yes, of course ! I forgot. Doctors, certainly ; 
 though I 've no doubt that Turnbull of Treutford would 
 do just as well as Siddoiis of Belgravia, and charge a 
 good deal less for doing it.' 
 
 After talking a little while with the Kussells, Walter 
 had gone back to the Hall. As he passed through the 
 churchyard something prompted him to look into the 
 old building itself. He opened the heavy oaken door 
 gently and entered. The church was empty, and he went 
 through the nave and down the steps into the chancel. 
 Here he paused and looked around him. The March 
 sunlight was streaming through the windows, some of 
 which were open, and the voices of the spring — the 
 liquid notes of blackbirds and thrushes, the bleating of 
 the young lambs in the meadows, the cawing of the nest- 
 ing rooks — floated in with it, the eternal song of Life, 
 unhushed by the presence of the dead. Walter Redman 
 leaned against the carved oaken pillars of the chancel 
 stalls in which so many generations had worshipped and 
 prayed. His glance rested on one after another of the 
 monuments of his race, from that of Sir Walter de Red- 
 man, staring up at his armour on the wall above him as 
 though wondering, as some irreverent descendant had 
 said, how he should ever get into it again, to that of his 
 own father, which he himself had erected a few years 
 previously. He had been familiar with the scene all his 
 life, but none the less he was conscious of a little thrill 
 of pride as he looked upon it — of pride and of some sad- 
 ness. There were not many such resting-places of a race 
 which could point to an unbroken descent and o^vner- 
 ship of the soil on which it lived of well-nigh a thousand 
 
ii6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 years. The words which his cousin Mary Russell had 
 spoken to him that morning returned to his mind. * You 
 practically severed your connection with the Church of 
 your forefathers when you married/ she had told him. 
 It was true. He had also severed the unborn who, in 
 the ordinary course of nature would come after him, from 
 all spiritual connection with those others who were lying 
 around him and beneath his feet. 
 
 Walter Redman was too well versed in history and in 
 the records of his own family for the thought that his 
 heirs would revert to the primitive faith of their ancestors 
 to afford him much satisfaction. The fact remained that, 
 however faithful the earlier members of the race might 
 have been to their medieval beliefs, their immediate 
 descendants had flung these aside so soon as education 
 and enlightenment had enabled them to understand their 
 true value, scope, and origin, in the same way that the 
 nation at large had done. And now he had severed the 
 connection of those who would succeed to them and to 
 him with that national faith, the inheritance of a purer 
 age, with which were bound up some of the best tradi- 
 tions of their common house. 
 
 'By what right?' 
 
 Walter Redman started and half turned round. It 
 seemed to him as though the words were spoken aloud 
 by some person standing at his side. 
 
 Then he remembered that he was alone, and knew 
 that they were his own thoughts. 
 
 ' By what right ? ' he repeated to himself, and had to 
 reply that it was by right of his own indifference — his 
 inability to believe. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 117 
 
 In the silence of the church, with only liiniself and 
 the dead to hear it, the answer did not sound satisfactory. 
 It was strange, he thought, that it should not. He had 
 analyzed that same indillcrence and inability to believe 
 so deeply and so often, even there in that very place, 
 while the offices of the Church were being celebrated 
 around him, and the result of the analysis had never 
 struck him as unsatisfactory until that moment. 
 
 Turning away almost impatiently, Walter retraced his 
 steps to the west door of the church, and, opening it, 
 found himself confronted by his wife, who was apparently 
 about to enter it. 
 
 Hilda started when she saw him, and looked surprised. 
 
 'Whv, Walter,' she said, 'I had no idea you were 
 
 here.' 
 
 'I have been at the Rectory,' he replied, 'and just 
 looked into the church on my way home. Do you want 
 to go in ? ' he added. ' I will come back with you if you 
 
 do.' 
 
 'Oh no,' said Hilda a little hurriedly. 'I thought I 
 would go in for a minute or two ; but it does n't matter. 
 Let us go into the gardens instead; it is such a lovely 
 spring morning.' 
 
 ' You have been to Abbotsbridge ? ' 
 
 ' Yes ; I have just got back.' 
 
 Walter looked at her. 
 
 * Don't you think you are doing a little too much?' 
 he said. 
 
 * I ? Oh, no ! Why should you think that ? ' 
 
 ' For no particular reason,' answered Walter lightly ; 
 ' only I have thought you sometimes looked tired of late, 
 
ii8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 and that is not very wise of you/ he added, with a 
 smile. 
 
 Hilda was silent. She was, indeed, feeling very tired, 
 and she had walked through the gardens to the church, 
 meaning to sit down in the latter in order to rest and 
 think for a little while. She knew that she should, in 
 all probability, find the building empty at that hour, 
 and that nobody would be likely to disturb her, unless 
 it were Mary Russell, who might come with fresh flowers 
 for the altar. She had been considerably astonished at 
 meeting her husband coming out of the church, and could 
 not help wondering what had taken him there. 
 
 That morning she had had a long conversation with 
 the Dominican Father to whom Father Galsworthy had 
 advised her to go for spiritual counsel while she was at 
 Abbotsbridge. As had been the case after all the inter- 
 views which she had recently had with him, she had 
 returned from it more troubled and perplexed in her mind 
 than ever. It was in vain that she tried to explain to 
 the Dominican her perplexity. He either could not, or 
 would not, understand it in the sense in which she 
 attempted to present it to him. Father Vincent insisted 
 upon looking at her case from a point of view which, 
 though a logical one, Hilda felt in her heart not to be a 
 true one, or only to be so in part. Carnal affection, he 
 never ceased to assure his penitent, was at the bottom of 
 her doubts and difficulties, and she was allowing her 
 material love for her husband to cast out and destroy that 
 spiritual love which alone could bring happiness and peace 
 of mind to both of them in the future. The troubled 
 state in which she found herself was, he impressed upon 
 
CASTING OF NETS 119 
 
 her, the Divine voice of conscience calling to her and 
 urging her to do lier duty towards God and His Church 
 by putting aside all considerations of worldly love — by 
 thinking, as he had implied to her with some frankness, 
 more of her husband's soul and less of his body. 
 
 It was in vain that Ilikla pleaded her scruples at 
 breaking the promise which she had made never to 
 interfere with her husband's religious views, and that 
 she dreaded to disturb his evident happiness. Father 
 Vincent had refused to listen for a moment to such 
 objections. They were mere excuses, he told her — 
 plausible inventions of Satan to obscure her vision and 
 cause her to stray from that path of duty and sacrifice 
 of all selfish motives which her conscience was so clearly 
 telling her to follow. The point of honour which she 
 advanced — the maintenance on her part of a compact to 
 which her husband had shown himself punctually obser- 
 vant — was swept scornfully aside by her confessor. 
 
 The Church, he declared to her, recognised no promise 
 as binding the maintenance of which was detrimental to 
 a human soul. The true dishonour would be for a 
 Catholic to keep such a promise had it been exacted. 
 The responsibility for breaking it would rest, not with 
 her, but with those who had caused her to give a pledge 
 which was in itself a sin. 
 
 Hilda's condition of health had certainly contributed 
 towards those mental anxieties which had been increased 
 rather than diminished by her attempts to seek spiritual 
 advice and consolation from Father Vincent. Her ap- 
 proaching confinement, moreover, had afforded the latter 
 occasion to remind her that she was about to pass through 
 
I20 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 a period of pain and danger. He besought her to make 
 peace with her conscience before that time should arrive. 
 He pointed out how terrible a thing it would be should 
 she have to reproach herself with having allowed her 
 husband's soul to perish for the want of any attempt on 
 her part to save it; how bitter would be the discovery 
 that her vaunted affection for him had been no true love, 
 but only an earthly passion. 
 
 AVeary in body, distressed and harassed in mind, Hilda's 
 soul had sometimes risen up in revolt against what her 
 heart told her was both unjust and tyrannical. Then 
 would follow hours of reaction, in which she would 
 upbraid herself for her distrust, her lack of humility and 
 discipline, and strive to convict herself of that purely 
 material passion to which Father Vincent had more 
 than hinted that she was a prey. 
 
 But it was not true. Something deep down in her 
 heart, and far removed from the disturbing elements 
 which ruffled the surface of life, assured her of this. She 
 could not lay her finger upon the falseness and insincerity 
 of the reasoning which was brought to bear upon her, but 
 it was in vain that she tried to combat the intuition that 
 both the one and the other lay concealed in the counsel 
 which was given to her at Abbotsbridge. 
 
 That morning Hilda had found Father Vincent more 
 uncompromising than ever, and, if possible, less sym- 
 pathetic. The Dominican had relied a little too much 
 upon the fact that he was dealing with a woman who 
 had been bred and born a Catholic, and had therefore 
 ventured to bring more pressure to bear upon his visitor 
 than was quite advisable. He had miscalculated the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 121 
 
 strength of Lady Rcdinan'H affection for her husband, 
 and miscalculated also the limits of her submissiveness 
 to spiritual authority. Much to Father Vincent's as- 
 tonishment, Hilda had given him to understand that she 
 was by no means disposed to follow his directions and 
 advice. The moment had been a trying one to the 
 Dominican, and in attempting to redeem one psychological 
 blunder he had fallen into another, and had drawn so 
 vivid a picture of the evil which Lady Redman was bring- 
 ing upon herself and her husband by her contumacy as 
 to arouse both the suspicions and the temper of his 
 penitent. 
 
 The result of that morning's interview had been that 
 Hilda had gently but firmly told Father Vincent that 
 she should soon be in Loudon, where she could consult 
 Father Galsworthy, and that, therefore, she did not think 
 she need ask him to receive her again. 
 
 It was while still upset in her mind by this interview 
 and its termination that Hilda had unexpectedly met 
 her husband in the porch of the church at Abbotsbury. 
 A few days afterwards they moved up to London. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 CONTRARY to her usual custom, Lady Merton spent 
 her Easter in London. As a rule, she made a 
 point of going to Rome before the Holy Week, and re- 
 maining there until the middle or end of June. She re- 
 garded herself, indeed, as a kind of charge d 'affaires of the 
 English Catholics during her residence in the Eternal City. 
 The latter flocked to her to procure them tickets to wit- 
 ness the Papal functions, and recent converts of a certain 
 class beheld in her the portal by which they hoped to enter 
 into Roman society — not merely the Anglo-American 
 world, but that more exclusive one in which they should 
 make the acquaintance of Roman princes and princesses, 
 and meet the higher dignitaries of the Church face to 
 face. 
 
 This year, however. Lady Merton had reluctantly post- 
 poned her visit ad limina. She felt that her duties to the 
 Church would be more worthily fulfilled by remaining in 
 London — at least, until after her grand-daughter Lady 
 Redman's confinement. Since leaving Abbotsbury she 
 had several times corresponded with Mary Russell. The 
 latter had been a little surprised to learn through Lady 
 Merton's letters tliat Hilda s epistles to her family more 
 than ever expressed the unhappiness and distress of mind 
 under which their writer was labouring. She thought it 
 
CASTING OF NETS 123 
 
 strange that Hilda should be so reticent to her regarding 
 her thoughts and feelings, and at the same time so ready to 
 discuss them with others. To be sure, Lady Merton had, 
 in a manner, warned her that this was the case, and her 
 explanation of it had seemed to be a very natural one 
 under the circumstances. 
 
 Mary Russell, however, felt a little hurt with her 
 cousin's wife. Considering herself not only to be fulfilling 
 Lady Merton's request that she should help Hilda in her 
 difficulties, but also to be acting for Walter's spiritual 
 benefit and ultimate happiness, she had endeavoured to 
 make the former understand that she was aware of her 
 anxieties and sympathized with her in them. The result 
 had not been as satisfactory as she had hoped, and Hilda's 
 reserve had only increased. Her advances had not been 
 responded to in any way, and Lady Redman had displayed 
 so marked a disinclination to discuss her husband's opin- 
 ions, or her own views regarding them, that Mrs. Russell 
 had felt snubbed, and had judged it to be more pi-udent 
 not to make a second attempt to induce her to do so. She 
 concluded that Lady jMcrton had been mistaken in think- 
 ing that Hilda would speak all the more freely to her be- 
 cause she was not a Catholic, and thought that it was 
 probably for this very reason that she declined to take her 
 into her confidence. 
 
 With Walter, however, it was different. He and Mary 
 Russell had several conversations together after their first 
 discussion in the Rectory garden. Having once made up 
 his mind to consult his cousin in the matter, it seemed to 
 be a relief to him to be able to talk about his wife. Mary 
 Russell encouraged him to do so, thinking that in this at 
 
124 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 any rate she was rendering good service. If it occurred to 
 her that Walter talked openly to her because he was 
 under the impression that his wife did the same, she did 
 not think it either necessary or wise to undeceive him. 
 Lord Redman himself had no doubt that it was owing to 
 his cousin's remonstrances with her that Hilda's visits to 
 Abbotsbridge had been far less frequent during the fort- 
 night or so which elapsed before their departure for Lon- 
 don. He had congratulated Mrs. Russell on the successful 
 results of her remonstrances, and on this point, again, she 
 had considered it more prudent to allow him to think that 
 she had earned his congratulations and had spoken to 
 Hilda. 
 
 Lady Merton had been by no means pleased when she 
 received Mrs. Russell's letter describing the failure of her 
 endeavours to induce her grand-daughter to talk about her 
 husband's spiritual shortcomings. It was obviously impos- 
 sible that Mrs. Russell should be able to arouse Hilda to 
 a sense of shame that even the Protestant wife of the 
 clergyman of her husband's parish was astonished at her 
 indifference to his irreligion, if she were not allowed to 
 approach the question. 
 
 Lady Merton felt extremely provoked with Hilda for 
 upsetting her plans, and she took the note to Lady Gwen 
 dolen, and made the latter read it in her presence to 
 Father Galsworthy. 
 
 She was more annoyed than ever when, after he had 
 listened to this letter. Father Galsworthy drew another 
 from his pocket-book. 
 
 'I have a communication here,' he said, ^ which, I 
 think, throws some light upon this matter. It is from my 
 
CASTING OF NETS 125 
 
 friend Father Vincent, tlie sub-Prior of the monastery at 
 Abbotsbridge. You made his acquaintance, I think,' 
 he added, ' when you were both at Abbotsbury last 
 Christmas.' 
 
 ' Yes,' said Lady IMcrton ; ' Hilda took us over to the 
 monastery clmrch and introduced us to him.' 
 
 ' He writes to me,' continued Father Galsworthy, ' that 
 he is very much concerned at Lady Redman's frame of 
 mind. I shall not be disclosing any sacred confidences if 
 I read you a part of his letter. The details he gives me 
 do not, I need hardly say, enter into matters which passed 
 between him and Lady Redman under the seal of confes- 
 sion. They are merely his own comments on her general 
 attitude towards her husband's unfortunate agnosticism — 
 the result of impressions formed during conversations quite 
 independent of the confessional.' 
 
 ^ Of course,' said Lady ]\Ierton. 
 
 * It ^\all be sufficient, I think, if I read the following 
 extract from his letter,' pursued Father Galsworthy : ' " I 
 deeply regret to say that I appear to have failed in my 
 efforts to awaken Lady Redman to a proper sense of her 
 duties as the Catholic wife of an infidel husband. An 
 afi'ection which seems to me to be essentially material and 
 physical has, alas ! obscured her powers of moral percep- 
 tion. My last conversation with Lady Redman on these 
 matters was far from satisfactory, and she parted from me 
 in a spirit which I can only qualify as rebellious. I learn 
 from her that she is soon to be in London, and no doubt 
 you will see her. I can only pray that your counsel may 
 prevail, and that 1 may be forgiven by Almighty God for 
 my inability to induce her to execute the task which He, 
 
126 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 in His mercy to one outside His Church, has so clearly 
 assigned to her." ' 
 
 Lady Merton sighed profoundly as Father Galsworthy 
 ceased reading. 
 
 ' Such beautiful humility ! ' she murmured, with her 
 eyes fixed upon the crucifix of her rosary, which she 
 was drawing through her hands. ' Fatlier Vincent, like 
 a true Christian, ascribes his failure to touch Hilda's 
 heart rather to his own incapacity of dealing with a 
 penitent than to her obstinacy and rebelliousness. Did 
 I not tell you, Gwen,' she added, turning to her daughter, 
 Hhat Hilda is ridiculously in love with her husband? 
 Father Vincent is evidently of the same opinion. The 
 poor child is a prey to an earthly passion which blinds 
 her to all sense of her terrible responsibilities. Is it not 
 so, Father?' 
 
 Father Galsworthy paused for a moment before he 
 answered her. 
 
 ' It is possible,' he said slowly, ' that Father Vincent 
 may be right in blaming himself for his apparent want 
 of success in this case. It often happens that a doctor, 
 however skilful, fails in his diagnosis of a bodily ailment, 
 where another no more skilful than he succeeds in dis- 
 covering the source of the malady. It is the same with 
 us physicians to the soul. It may be that Father Vin- 
 cent has been a little too precipitate in his mode of 
 dealing with Lady Redman's difficulties, owing to his 
 not having had sufficient opportunities of studying her 
 character and disposition. The human soul is a far more 
 complex and sensitive machine than the human body, 
 but it is equally a machine, which will answer to the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 127 
 
 touch of the expert, and refuse to respond to that of the 
 amateur. I do not mean to imply that Father Vincent 
 is an amateur, far from it. But I can conceive that 
 lie may have neglected to make suificient allowance for 
 the influence of that earthly passion from which he recog- 
 nises that Lady Redman's spiritual state proceeds.' 
 
 ^Ile should have endeavoured to crusli it,' said Lady 
 ISIcrton decidedly. 'If he had used his authority as 
 a priest, Hilda would not have dared to oppose his 
 directions.' 
 
 ' I imagine that this is what he has attempted to do. 
 It is a great mistake,' replied Father Galsworthy abruptly. 
 'You cannot crush human passions among human beings 
 who live in the world. There is no method of doing so 
 except one, and that is the embracing of a religious life.' 
 
 ' But, my dear Father Galsworthy/ expostulated Lady 
 Gwendolen mildly, ' we can't all be monks and nuns. 
 The majority of us have not the vocation.' 
 
 'No; therefore the Church, in her marvellous wisdom, 
 has another method of dealing with the passions and 
 weaknesses of mankind.' 
 
 ' And what is that, Father ? ' asked Lady IVIerton. 
 
 ' She utilizes them,' replied Father Galsworthy. ' That,' 
 he added, ' is one of the di\dne attributes of the Sacra- 
 ment of Penance. It is the intuition of when and how 
 the human passions can be used, and converted from 
 dangers into blessings, which forms the diff'erence between 
 a priest who is expert in the management of his penitents 
 and one who is not so.' 
 
 Lady INIerton looked at him wdth reverent admiration. 
 
 ' AhV she said, ' I wish that you had been at Abbots- 
 
128 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 bridge, dear Father Galsworthy. I feel con\dnced that 
 poor Hilda's case has been mismanaged, not, of course, 
 from any fault of Father Vincent's, but from the fact of 
 his not properly understanding her nature, and the 
 peculiar position in which she is placed.' 
 
 ^ I do not suppose that I should have succeeded where 
 Father Vincent failed. I only venture to think that he 
 may have been a little too hasty. So delicate a matter 
 needs time and very gentle treatment. It should be the 
 aim of Lady Redman's spiritual director to try and ex- 
 ercise that very gift to which I have just alluded. The 
 material elements of the love she bears to her husband 
 should be made use of, not trampled down and despised. 
 They must by degrees be transformed from masters into 
 servants. As the former, they are pernicious; as the 
 latter, they may be rendered valuable. I do not know 
 if I have explained myself,* he added. 
 
 ^ It appears to me to be a dangerous thing to inter- 
 fere with a woman's love for her husband,' said Lady 
 Gwendolen hesitatingly. 
 
 Lady Merton glanced at her reprovingly. 
 
 * Really, Gwen, I am surprised at you,' she said. ^ Of 
 course Father Galsworthy does not propose to do that; 
 it would be monstrous. As I understand it, all that he 
 would wish is that Hilda's eyes should be opened, and 
 that she should distinguish between that true love for her 
 husband which will be the happiness and the consolation 
 both of her own life and of his, and the mere — er — 
 human affection which at present dominates her. Am I 
 not right, Father ? ' 
 
 ' You are perfectly right. Lady ^lerton. As you know. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 129 
 
 I was always opposed to this marriage. I do not ap[)rovc 
 of Catholies marrying those professing herctieal or sehis- 
 matic creeds. The risk is too great, and I have seldom 
 known such alliances not lead to undesirable complica- 
 tions. My advice, however, was overruled. I am quite 
 aware, of course, that you all consented to the marriage 
 from the laudable desire that it should lead to the saving 
 of a soul.' 
 
 * And to the extending of the influence of our holy 
 religion in this country,' added Lady Merton. 
 
 * Precisely. We may reasonably hope that the latter 
 object has been attained, or will very shortly be so, as 
 far as the future is concerned. But we cannot be sure 
 of it. Lord Redman is a young man. It must in all 
 probability be many years before we can indeed say 
 that Abbotsbury is in Catholic hands, and that another 
 prominent English house has returned to the faith of 
 its forefathers.' 
 
 Lady Merton nodded her head approvingly. 
 
 'Who can say,' continued Father Galsworthy, 'what 
 the influence of a Protestant father— we will call Lord 
 Redman for courtesy's sake a Protestant — may not 
 effect upon a young man? In her solicitude for her 
 children, the Church protects the offspring of such mar- 
 riaores, as far as she is able to do so, by the most wise 
 stipulation that they shall be educated in her divine 
 truths; but she cannot guard them against the baneful 
 influences of the Protestantism of this country in their 
 after-life. The dangers to which they are exposed are 
 all the greater from the fact of one of their parents being 
 a Protestant. For my part, I wish that the Church 
 
 9 
 
ijo CASTING OF NETS 
 
 would disallow mixed marriages in toto. The restrictions 
 which she has placed upon them in England of recent 
 years are but half-measures. There should be no com- 
 promising with heretics.' 
 
 ^ Ah, yes ! all you say is very true/ said Lady Merton. 
 'It would be better, no doubt, if mixed marriages were 
 definitely forbidden. But, as they are not, it is clearly 
 the duty of all Catholics to endeavour that when entered 
 upon they should so far as possible advance the cause of 
 the Church. I often wonder,' she added, with a sigh, 
 'what I should have done if all my children had been 
 Catholics, and not you only, Gwen ! Our choice, you see, 
 is so limited — so very limited,' she concluded, thinking of 
 the marriageable young men in the Catholic world. 
 
 Father Galsworthy thought that he knew very well 
 what Lady Merton would have done, and so, it must 
 be confessed, did Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 ' I do not understand,' he said, ' what can have wrought 
 such a change in Lady Redman's intentions. During her 
 engagement she spoke enthusiastically of the joy it would 
 be to her to be the means of bringing her future husband 
 into the Church. I was surprised that she did not appear 
 to realize his attitude towards Christianity generally.' 
 
 Lady Merton looked at him with a frank smile. 
 
 'Dear Father Galsworthy,' she said, 'you are so re- 
 moved from the vanities of our world that I do not won- 
 der you are surprised. I was so myself. Hilda deceived 
 herself, and, quite unintentionally, poor dear child, she 
 deceived us. You nmst remember that she was very 
 much in love. Probably we are better able to make 
 allowances for her in that matter than you could be.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 131 
 
 ' She deceived you ? ' asked Father Galsworthy. 
 'Yes; quite unintentionally, as I have just said, but 
 she deceived us — at least, she certainly did nie ; and I, 
 of course, repeated to her mother what she had told me. 
 From all she said, I quite thought she had good grounds 
 for believing that Walter Redman was not so sceptical as 
 he gave himself out to be. Irreligion in young men is 
 very often a j^ose. She appeared to be so certain of being 
 able to influence him when once they were married, that 
 I felt convinced wc were very sliort-sighted in attempting 
 to prevent the engagement. I am quite as much aston- 
 ished as you are at her apparent indifference, and at her 
 unwillino-ness to further her husband's conversion, as 
 indeed, I have told her very plainly.' 
 ^ And what did she say ? ' 
 
 'Well, she evidently took it to heart,' replied Lady 
 Merton. ^ There is no doubt that she had not realized 
 the position at all. Mrs. Russell, whose letter you have 
 just heard, tells me that, though Hilda will not speak 
 to her about it, she is certainly very troubled in her 
 mind, w^hich is a good sign.' 
 
 ^We must do our best to remove the cause of her 
 trouble,' said Father Galsw^orthy. 
 
 'Ah!' exclaimed Lady Gwendolen. 'I am sure you 
 will be able to help her better than anyone else could do. 
 You have known Hilda from her childhood. Father, and 
 I feel so thankful to think she will be under your direction 
 again, now that she is coming to London. And w^ith all 
 that is before her, too ! ' 
 
 ' I am very disappointed about Mrs. Russell,' said 
 Lady Merton, ' for I had hoped that she would have been 
 
132 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 able to do so much with Hilda. However, she appears 
 to have had several conversations with Walter Redman, 
 and from what she has written to me lately I think she 
 has been very discreet. She has allowed him to think 
 that his wife is confiding in her, and this, of course, gives 
 greater weight to all that she says to him.' 
 
 * Mrs. Russell is likely to join the Church, you say ? ' 
 asked Father Galsworthy. 
 
 Lady Merton smiled. 
 
 *She is one of those people who have had violent 
 prejudices,' she replied, * and is now in a state of bewil- 
 derment because many of them have been exploded.' 
 
 ^ It is always a good thing when the wives of the 
 Protestant clergy become converts,' said Father Gals- 
 worthy ; ^ it brings the claims of the Church home to 
 their husbands' parishioners, and puts the husbands them- 
 selves in a very false position.' 
 
 ^I mean to take her in hand,' said Lady Merton. 
 ' She has promised to pay me a visit at Ware this summer. 
 It certainly would be a great thing if we could open her 
 eyes to the truth, and, of course, the more the Faith is 
 propagated at Abbotsbury the better. There is so much 
 in gradually accustoming people to an idea, especially 
 in a country place where old traditions have to be 
 overcome.' 
 
 * But is there not a fear,' said Father Galsworthy, ' that 
 this lady may only succeed in attaching Lord Redman 
 more to Protestantism ? He will naturally conclude that 
 she is talking to him in the interests of that religion.' 
 
 ^ I think not,' replied Lady Merton. ^ He is very much 
 in love with his wife, and you must remember that he 
 
CASTING OF NETS 133 
 
 will always believe that it is she who is pionipting Mrs. 
 Russell' 
 
 *But even so ' began the Oratorian. 
 
 Lady Mertou interrupted him. 
 
 * I sec what you are afraid of/ she said, smiling. ' Mrs. 
 Russell herself is quite satisfied that no one is aiming at 
 Lord Redman's conversion to Catholicism. 8he believes 
 she is actiuG: in the interests of her own Church, and that 
 Hilda merely desires that her husband should have some 
 religious faith. She has no idea that she is fulfilling the 
 part of a stepping-stone.' 
 
 * But is not that policy rather a dangerous one ? ' 
 
 * Something must be risked in such a cause, Father ! * 
 replied Lady Merton, looking at him from beneath 
 drooping eyelids. ' Mrs. Russell is not a very far-seeing 
 person, I think,' she continued. ' She will play the part 
 all the better because she is so unconscious of having as- 
 sumed it. If Walter Redman is to be converted at all, 
 he must be made to think about religion. Protestantism 
 will be as good as any other form to begin with.* 
 
 ^ But he might never get any further ! ' 
 
 ' I am convinced that he would. Once he could be 
 made to believe in something, his love for Hilda, and hers 
 for him, would lead him on. Besides, there will be the 
 child — that ought to prove a great bond of union.' 
 
 * Father Vincent says that Lady Redman has scruples 
 of conscience — or what she believes to be scruples of 
 conscience — about breaking a certain promise which it 
 appears she made to her husband at the time of their 
 marriage,' said Father Galsworthy. 
 
 *0h,' replied Lady Merton, ^a very ridiculous thing! 
 
134 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Hilda was extremely foolish to agree to it ; but then, a 
 young girl in love is hardly to be held responsible for all 
 that she may say. She told me about it at the time, 
 and of course I advised her not to commit herself in any 
 way. It seems, however, that she allowed her fiance to 
 extract a promise from her that she would never attempt 
 to interfere with his religious opinions. She alluded to 
 this piece of folly at Abbotsbury, and I explained to her 
 that such a promise could not be binding. Besides, 
 Walter Redman has no religious opinions — they arc all 
 anti-religious ; so, under any circumstances, it could not 
 hold good.' 
 
 ' No such promise could hold good for a Catholic,' said 
 Father Galsworthy in his abrupt voice. 
 
 * So I told her. I pointed out to her that she must have 
 made it with a certain mental reservation, for she was 
 determined to effect her husband's conversion. I cannot 
 think why it should appear to her to be so serious a matter.' 
 
 ' Let us hope she will look at it in a different light be- 
 fore long,' said Father Galsworthy. 'We must be patient,' 
 he continued, ' and not try to hurry things unduly. I am 
 afraid that this has been Father Vincent's mistake. The 
 birth of her child will probably work a great change in 
 Lady Redman's mind, and she will be likely to listen more 
 readily to advice. Once she is a mother, the future will 
 mean much more to her. It must be our task to make 
 her realize how grave a responsibility lies with her, espe- 
 cially if the child should be a son.' 
 
 ' And my son-in-law must be thrown more with Catholics, 
 if possible,' said Lady Gwendolen. ' He must be taken 
 out of a Protestant atmosphere. Look what an influence 
 
CASTING OF NETS 135 
 
 Hilda's society has already had upon ^Irs. Russell. 1 am 
 conviuccd that had it not been for this absurd promise be- 
 tween them, and Hilda's folly in observing it so strictly, 
 she would have had quite as much influence over her hus- 
 band, or more.' 
 
 'ISTo doubt,' said Father Galsworthy. 'I agree with 
 you, Lady Gwendolen : it is most desirable that Lord 
 Redman should be brought under the influence of Catholi- 
 cism, and learn to know the everyday life of those who, 
 like yourselves, are faithful children of the Church. And 
 now,' he added, 'I must leave you. I think that these 
 letters have shown us exactly where we stand, and what 
 we shall have to do in order to help Lady Redman, and, 
 we will hope, with God's blessing. Lord Redman's soul. 
 They will be here in a few days, I conclude, and, of 
 course, I shall go and call on her. If there is anything 
 more that I can do, you will let me know, will you not ? ' 
 he concluded, turning to Lady Merton. 
 
 ^ Dear Father Galsworthy,' the latter replied, ^ you are 
 of such help and comfort to us in our anxieties ! Xo, 
 I think there is nothing more to be said for the present. 
 Stay,' she murmured ; ^ there is one thing. Before you 
 leave us. Father, will you not say a Hail Mary and Our 
 Father with us, and let us offer them to St. Joseph to- 
 gether, and implore his aid in our efibrts to advance the 
 cause of the Church of which he is patron ? ' 
 
 Lady Merton sank on her knees as she spoke. Father 
 Galsworthy recited the opening clauses of the prayers, 
 while she and Lady Gwendolen joined in the concluding 
 portions. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 FATHER GALSWORTHY had not been obliged to 
 call upon Hilda in St. James's Square after all. 
 A note from Lady Gwendolen informed him that her 
 daughter and Lord Redman had duly arrived in London, 
 and he was contemplating paying his promised visit, when 
 one morning, as he was sitting in his own room at the 
 Oratory, he was informed that a lady was anxious to see 
 him. He descended to the little rooms on the ground- 
 floor of the building which are set apart for the reception 
 of those who wish for interviews with the Fathers, and 
 in one of these he found Hilda awaiting him. 
 
 She evidently had not heard him open the door, and 
 when he entered the apartment she was standing in front 
 of a print of St. Philip Neri, which, with a crucifix, was 
 the only object that adorned its walls. A small tabic and 
 two or three chairs formed the furniture of the room. On 
 one of the latter was lying a stole of white silk, the ends 
 of which were embroidered with a cross fringed with 
 gold lace. Confessions were often heard by the Fathers 
 in these waiting-rooms, and the vestment, which had 
 evidently been forgotten, was worn by the priests who 
 heard them. 
 
 Father Galsworthy paused for a moment on the thresh- 
 old and gave his visitor a keen, comprehensive glance. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 137 
 
 Then he coughed slightly. Hilda started and turned 
 round. 
 
 'Ah!' he said. 'Lady Redman, I am very glad to 
 see you. I hope you have not been waiting long/ and 
 he drew a chair forward and motioned to her to sit down. 
 ' Lady Gwendolen told me that you had arrived in Lon- 
 don,' he continued, ' and I meant to have taken an oppor- 
 tunity of calling upon you whenever I should find myself 
 in the neighbourhood of St. James's Square. I hope 
 Lord Redman is wxll — and you also ? ' 
 
 ' Walter is very well,' answered Lady Redman ; and 
 then she paused. 
 
 ' That sounds as if you were not so,' said Father Gals- 
 worthy, looking at her. 
 
 Hilda laughed a little nervously. 
 
 'I? Oh, I am very well. Father — at least, as well 
 as I can hope to be just now.' 
 
 ' Yes, yes, I understand ; but, my dear child, I trust 
 you are well in mind, and not only so in body.' 
 
 Hilda was silent for a moment. 
 
 'No,' she said presently ; ' it is that which I have come 
 to see you about.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy took up the stole which was lying 
 on the chair near him, and, folding it, placed it on the 
 
 table. 
 
 ' You have done quite rightly to come to me if you 
 are in any difficulty,' he said. 'No doubt you are 
 troubled about your husband. It must, of course, be 
 a great sorrow to you to know that he is an unbeliever.' 
 
 'I am troubled about myself, Father,' replied Hilda 
 in a low voice. 
 
138 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'Yes?' 
 
 ' I consulted Father Vincent at Abbotsbridge.' 
 
 ' And could he not help you ? ' 
 
 ' No/ said Hilda wearil3\ ' He could not understand. 
 Nobody seems to understand; but I am sure tliat you 
 will do so. That is why I have come.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy drew his chair up to the table and 
 rested his elbows upon the latter. 
 
 * Let us hope so,' he said abruptly. ' What is your 
 trouble? We will see if a remedy cannot be found 
 for it.' 
 
 'Yes,' answered Hilda eagerly. 'I want to tell you 
 everything/ she added, ' from the beginning. It is easier 
 with you — you have always known me, and you also 
 know the circumstances of my marriage/ 
 
 ' Tell me all,' said Father Galsworthy — ' all, that is, 
 which your conscience warns you that you ought to make 
 me acquainted with.' 
 
 ' You remember how, when I was engaged, I hoped 
 to be the means of bringing Walter into the Church ? 
 I thought then that he was unsettled and unhappy in 
 his mind, and that in reality he was longing for some 
 form of faith in which he could believe.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy bent his penetrating black eyes 
 upon her, but he said nothing. 
 
 ' Now,' continued Hilda simply, ' I do not think it any 
 more. I do not know why I believed it when they told 
 me so.' 
 
 ' When they told you so ? ' repeated Father Galsworthy. 
 'When he told you so, you mean.' 
 
 Hilda looked at him with surprise. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 139 
 
 ' Walter ? ' she exclaimed — ' Redman ? lie never told 
 me so. He never would speak to me about religion.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy frowned. 
 
 ' Go on, my child/ he said. 
 
 ^ Since I have been married/ continued Hilda, ' I have 
 learned to understand my husband better, lie is per- 
 fectly happy. What his religion may be I do not know, 
 but to say that he possesses none is as untrue as to say 
 that he is unhappy. I know that he is too good to be 
 the latter.' 
 
 ' Then what is troubling you ? ' asked Father Galsworthy 
 gravely. 
 
 Hilda hesitated for a moment. 
 
 * The feeling that I am not doing my duty to the Church 
 — that I cannot do it without breaking my word to my 
 husband.' 
 
 ^ And why are you not doing what your conscience tells 
 you is your duty as a Catholic ? ' 
 
 ^ Ah, Father, that is what they all ask me — my fother 
 and mother, my grandmother, Father Vincent, all of 
 them.' 
 
 * It is a very obvious question.' 
 ' I know it, but ' 
 
 ' But what ? ' 
 
 * How can I explain ? It clashes with that other duty 
 which to me is sacred — my duty to my husband.' 
 
 ' I see,' replied Father Galsworthy. ' Well ? ' 
 
 Hilda looked at him a little appcalingly. His manner 
 
 was not encouraging, and she felt that he was nearly 
 
 as difficult to talk to as the Dominican at Abbotsbridge 
 
 had been. A feeling of disappointment came over her. 
 
I40 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 She had hoped for something different from the Oratorian, 
 who had known her all her life. 
 
 ' You do not understand/ she said to him after a pause, 
 gathering courage as she spoke. 'You wonder why I 
 should have changed my intentions since my marriage, 
 and why I have not long ago tried to convert my husband. 
 I dare not.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy made a movement of surprise. 
 
 ' You dare not ? ' he repeated. ' Why ? Is Lord Red- 
 man so formidable ? I thought you said that he was so 
 — so good to you.' 
 
 Hilda smiled faintly. 
 
 ' That is the very reason,' she replied — * at least, it is 
 one of the reasons. We are so happy together. Until 
 my grandmother spoke to me at Abbotsbury I had none 
 of these doubts and fears which have since oppressed me. 
 I have seen for myself how contented Walter is, and how 
 honourably he maintains his promise to allow me full 
 liberty to practise my religion.' 
 
 ' I see/ said Father Galsworthy again. ' And the other 
 reasons — what are they ? ' 
 
 ' As I say, I dare not interfere with his happiness, and 
 be the one to break our mutual promise. Why should I 
 be faithless to that promise while he is loyal to it ? What 
 right have I to attempt to compel him to embrace my 
 faith when his own suffices to him ? Can you not under- 
 stand, Father ? ' 
 
 ' Perfectly.' 
 
 Hilda gave a little sigh of relief. 
 
 ' I felt sure that you w^ould,' she exclaimed. 
 
 'But/ continued Father Galsworthy, 'you have only 
 
CASTING OF NETS 141 
 
 told me your reasons for neglecting your duty to the 
 cause of the Church. You have not told nie why that 
 neglect should give you so much uneasiness of mind and 
 conscience.' 
 
 * Father Vincent would not allow that 1 have any right 
 to consider what I believe to be my duty to my husband 
 if tliat duty is opposed to the claims of the Church. He 
 declares that I have no true love for my husband, and 
 that I am sacrificing the welfare of his soul and my own 
 to ' 
 
 'To what?' 
 
 ' To a purely material passion,' replied Hilda, blushing. 
 
 ' And does your conscience tell you that Father Vincent 
 is right?' inquired Father Galsworthy. 
 
 ' That is what I do not know. Sometimes I think he 
 may be so, and that my love for Walter is making me too 
 fearful of saying or doing anything to disturb the happi- 
 ness which it brings me. At other times I feel that Father 
 Vincent is wrong, and that my action — or, rather, inaction 
 — is prompted by very different motives. JNIy trouble is 
 that I am not sure of myself, Father. At first I felt so 
 sure, and was so happy. But, little by little, the letters I 
 received from my relations disturbed that certainty. Then 
 I went to Father Vincent, as you had advised me to do, 
 and all he said to me unsettled my mind still more. He 
 could not understand that I want to do my duty as a 
 Catholic, but I dare not, and I will not, fail in my promise 
 to my husband. It is a terrible thing to feel that the one 
 course is opposed to the other.' 
 
 'Are you sure that it is so opposed?' said Father Gals- 
 worthy, less abmptly than he had hitherto spoken. 
 
142 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ^ Father Vinceut assures me that it is, and my own rela- 
 tions all think so.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy was silent for a minute or two. 
 
 ^ Well, my dear daughter/ he said presently, ' what we 
 have to do is to ascertain whether you and Father Vincent 
 have not somewhat misunderstood each other, and whether 
 you have not misunderstood yourself. This may possibly 
 turn out to be at the bottom of all your misgivings and 
 difficulties. To begin with, let us examine this promise 
 which you and your husband made to each other at the 
 time of your engagement. Why did you agree to it, if you 
 did not intend to keep it? ' 
 
 ' But I did intend to keep it.' 
 
 'My dear child, did you realize to what you were com- 
 mitting yourself? You were deliberately resigning all the 
 influence over your husband's soul which, as a Catholic, 
 you were bound to do your best to acquire and preserve. 
 Aiid yet, at the same time, you were quieting the reproaches 
 of your conscience for your alliance with a heretic by tell- 
 ing yourself that you were to be the means of bringing 
 him to the Church. There is a grave contradiction of 
 motives here, my daughter, and we must endeavour to dis- 
 cover the true origin of this contradiction.' 
 
 ' I can explain it,' replied Hilda eagerly. ^ I know that 
 it must appear to have been an act of deception both as 
 regards myself and as regards my husband ; but in reality 
 it was not so. When I agreed to Walter's condition that 
 we should never interfere with each other's religious 
 opinions, I did so under the impression that he was not 
 happy or settled in his views. I believed that, after we 
 were married, he would of his own accord release me from 
 
CASTING OF NETS 143 
 
 the promise, and that we sliouhl be able to talk freely of 
 these things together. Every week that passed showed 
 me how mistaken I had been in my ideas eoneerning his 
 longing for some fixed belief, and how impossible it was 
 for me not to adhere to my part of the compact made be- 
 tween us.' 
 
 ' Did you explain this to Father Vincent.' 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 ' And what did he say ? * 
 
 ' He told me that I had allowed myself to be too easily 
 persuaded that Walter had any religious ideals — that I 
 had permitted my inclinations to gain the mastery over 
 my religious faith. I do not like to say what he gave me 
 to understand that he considered to be the real impulses 
 which moved me/ concluded Hilda, averting her gaze 
 from Father Galsworthy. 
 
 ^ There is no necessity for you to say it,' returned the 
 latter quietly ; ^ I quite agree with him.' 
 
 Hilda coloured violently. 
 
 ' Father,' she said, and her voice trembled a little, ' I 
 thought that you said you understood. It is not that ! ' 
 she added, almost passionately. ' You are all of you 
 mistaken. I am quite sure it is not that.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy looked at her calmly. 
 
 ' And if it were ? ' he asked, and then he paused. ' If 
 it were,' he continued, always looking at her with a 
 steady, tranquil gaze, ^ why should the fact so greatly 
 distress you? Listen to me, my child. You think that 
 we do not understand you. It is not we who do not 
 understand, but you who are misunderstanding yourself. 
 It is no sin to love vour husband, and in all such love 
 
144 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 there must be a carnal, as well as a spiritual, side. The 
 two are not necessarily opposed, any more than the body 
 and the soul are necessarily opposed to each other. You 
 are mistaken in thinking your duty towards your husband 
 and your duty towards the Church to be at variance, and 
 that you are unable to carry out the one without being 
 disloyal to the other. Your doubts upon these points 
 appear to me to arise from a misconception of the true 
 nature of both.' 
 
 ' If I could only see how ! ' said Hilda. ' I do not want 
 to be a bad Catholic, Father,' she added earnestly. 
 
 * I am sure that you do not. Your uneasiness of mind 
 is a proof of your good intentions. You told me just 
 now you were assured that your husband was very un- 
 settled in Ids religious views, also that this knowledge 
 largely influenced you in your hopes of converting him, 
 and, it may be presumed, in your determination to marry 
 him. Wlio gave you sucli assurances ? ' 
 
 Hilda looked at him with surprise. 
 
 ^Why,' she replied, 'my grandmother. She told me 
 that she had also said the same thing to you.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy shook his head. 
 
 ' You deceived yourself, my daughter,' he said. ' This is 
 a point upon which you should examine yourself very 
 closely. I do not mean to say,' he added, * that you did 
 so intentionally, but I fear that in this matter the wish 
 was father to the thought. Your love for Lord Redman 
 made you seize upon any point which could help towards 
 the removal of the very natural dislike which your rela- 
 tives entertained for the idea of your marriage with a 
 Protestant. Was it not so?' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 145 
 
 Hilda was silent. She could not deny the fact that 
 her Imsband's supposed yearnings for some religious faith 
 had been largely used by her in her conversations with 
 Lady Merton and her relations as an argument to induce 
 the latter to consent to her engagement. Nevertheless, 
 she felt that Father Galsworthy was not presenting the case 
 fairly to her. As Father Vincent had done, only in less un- 
 compromising language, he was holding her responsible for 
 that which her innermost conscience told her had not origi- 
 nated with herself, but had been the suggestion of others. 
 
 Father Galsworthy watched her quietly for a moment 
 or two. 
 
 ^ Are you quite sure,' he continued, ^ that, in your 
 anxiety that all should turn out as you and your lover 
 wished, and in order to support your own very natural 
 hopes that through your love he would be brouglit into 
 the Church, you did not unconsciously lead those around 
 you to regard as a fact what w^as in reality no more than 
 a supposition on your part ? And was not this supposi- 
 tion founded, perhaps, on what you believed that you 
 discerned in your lover's character ? Passion is a very 
 insidious thing, my child, and when we are under its 
 influence we are too apt to lose the mastery over our 
 other feelings. We are ready eagerly to grasp at any 
 excuse and at any extenuating circumstances which we 
 can find, if by so doing we can facilitate indulgence in 
 our passion, and at the same time supply our consciences 
 with a plausible reason for having given way to it. If 
 you had been quite honest with yourself in the beginning, 
 you would not now have to regret your neglect of the 
 
 truest interests of your husband's spiritual welfare. You 
 
 10 
 
146 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 would not have bound yourself to that promise which 
 now fetters you/ 
 
 * I ought never to have agreed to it/ said Hilda. ' In 
 that I have since reproached myself for being dishonest 
 — both to my husband and to myself. I should have 
 realized that I was failing in my duty as a Catholic, 
 and that I had no right to trust to other agencies to 
 promote the conversion of my husband, which I then 
 so earnestly desired. I have often repented bitterly of 
 my dishonesty; for now I know that, though I have 
 kept the letter of my promise, the spirit in which it was 
 made was a false spirit.' 
 
 ^ Ah ! you realize this ? ' asked Father Galsworthy. 
 
 ' I cannot help realizing it. I ought to have told 
 Walter that I could not make such a promise when 
 all the time I was praying that it might be given to 
 me to bring him into the fold of the Church.' 
 
 ^ And why do you consider yourself as bound to keep 
 a promise the spirit of which, to use your own words, 
 you know to be false ? ' 
 
 ' A promise is a promise,' replied Hilda simply. ' How- 
 ever nmch I may regret having made it, I do not feel the 
 less bound to respect it. Indeed, I feel all the more 
 bound to do so because, if I have deceived my husband 
 once by pretending to be indifferent to his religious views, 
 I do not wish to do so a second time by failing to observe 
 a mutual compact which he is so scrupulous in maintaining. 
 That,' she continued, ' is another thing which I could not 
 make Father Vincent understand, nor will my own family 
 see what I mean. To me it is so clear. I regard it as a 
 point of honour. If my husband attempted to interfere 
 
CASTING OF NETS 147 
 
 with mc ill my religion, I should consider tiiat lie was 
 acting dishonourably. Would he not have an equal right 
 to think the same of me under similar circumstances ? ' 
 
 Father Galsworthy listened patiently to her. Once 
 or twice lie seemed to be about to interrupt her, but he 
 checked himself. 
 
 * There can be no point of honour in a matter which 
 has its origin in a dishonest act,' he said, when he had 
 heard her to tlie end. 'Here again,' he continued, 'I 
 think Father Vincent was right. The truth is, you have 
 been deceiving yourself throughout ; or, rather, you have 
 been allo\\dng your love for your husband to deceive you. 
 No,' he added, as Hilda made a gesture which had some- 
 thing of impatience and denial in it, ' do not misunderstand 
 me, my dear child. I am not blaming you. As I said 
 before, it is no sin for a wife to love her husband ; and 
 even the grosser and more material part of that love can, 
 if rightly used, be purged of its sinful nature. With what 
 other object was the Sacrament of Matrimony instituted 
 by God and approved by the Church? But this, the 
 carnal element in the love which should exist between 
 husband and wife, has need of careful watching, lest it 
 assume the mastery over that spiritual element which 
 alone can bring true happiness in the married state. It 
 should never be forgotten that the former is a concession 
 by God to the weakness of human nature, not to the 
 strength of human affection. Have you not been in 
 danger of forgetting this? And is not your present 
 state of trouble and difficulty the direct result of this 
 forgetfulness ? ' 
 
 ' How, Father ? ' murmured Hilda. 
 
148 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * I will tell you. It began by allowing you to deceive 
 others; it has ended by encouraging you to deceive 
 yourself. It has blinded you to a proper sense of your 
 responsibilities towards the higher and more spiritual 
 attributes of your love. It has made you fearful where 
 you should have been courageous, weak where you should 
 have been strong. You are content to seize hold of any 
 pretext which can afford you an excuse for turning a 
 deaf ear to the remonstrances of your conscience. You 
 dread to disturb your present happiness, but you are not 
 afraid to remain inactive while the soul of the husband 
 whom you profess to love is in deadly peril. My dear 
 daughter, can you wonder that you are troubled? You 
 should rather thank God that you are so, as those who love 
 you thank Him for allowing your conscience to speak and 
 arouse in you a truer sense of your duties towards Him.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy paused, and Hilda's gaze strayed 
 beyond him to the window, whence she could see across 
 the piece of garden outside it to the Brompton Road. 
 She followed absently the stream of cabs and omnibuses 
 passing to and fro along the thoroughfare, and found 
 herself wondering, with that curious interest in triviali- 
 ties which so often overtakes us in moments of mental 
 anxiety or emotion, what the people who sat on the tops 
 of the latter were thinking about as they looked over 
 the boundary wall into the precincts of the Oratory. 
 What were the lives of those careless-looking human 
 beings speeding eastward and westward ? Did they give 
 a thought in passing to the tales of moral distress and 
 perplexity which, perchance, were being told a few yards 
 away from them ? 
 
CASTING OF NETS 149 
 
 The sound of Father Ualsworthy's voice arrested IlihUi'w 
 wandering thouglits. His tones were somewhat less harsh 
 and abrupt than they had hitherto been. 
 
 *You think that 1 am judging you severely, do you 
 not, my ehild?' he was saying to her. 'And yet,' he 
 added, ' I hope to make you reahze how I am striving 
 to show you the true causes of your distress of mind, in 
 order that, knowing them, you may be able to eradicate 
 them, and so procure for yourself that peace for which 
 you arc longing. I hope I have succeeded in explaining 
 to you how you have deceived yourself — or, rather, how 
 your carnal love for your husband has deceived you and 
 made you incapable of correctly analyzing your own mo- 
 tives. There is another point, however, which I want 
 to impress upon you. Do not think that we, the minis- 
 ters of the Church, to whom you have turned for advice, 
 are not able to sympathize with you in your very natural 
 repugnance to breaking what I am sure you conscien- 
 tiously believe to be a sacred promise. I said just now 
 that it was possible Father Vincent misunderstood your 
 motives, and I still believe that he did so. He does not 
 know you as I know you, and, though our conclusions 
 are the same, I should not counsel you to attempt to 
 interfere with the natural course of your wifely affection 
 for your husband. I would not have you despise it, nor 
 even have you regard it as the direct cause of your diffi- 
 culties, but rather as the indirect cause. The direct cause, 
 my daughter, has been your own want of faith in the 
 Church, your own heedlessness of the Church's claims 
 and authority. Had you possessed a proper sense of 
 these, even your material love for your husband would 
 
I50 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 have been powerless to make you forget your responsi- 
 bilities toward his soul. Have you considered the difter- 
 ence between your position and his ? I do not think 
 you can have done so. You have the priceless heritage 
 of the Faith, and it rests with yourself to be a partaker 
 in all those joys to which the Church can admit her 
 children. But how is it with your husband ? He is not 
 even a believing Protestant. He cannot, therefore, par- 
 ticipate in those spiritual benefits which we may reason- 
 ably hope that God in His mercy will eventually confer 
 on all conscientious believers in Christianity, even though 
 these be not of His Church. You have married this 
 man, my child, whose soul is condemned to everlasting 
 punishment unless a means of grace be found to intervene 
 and save him from himself and from his doom. When 
 your hour comes for judgment, will it serve your cause, 
 think you, to plead this loyalty to a compact which you 
 know in your heart to be sinful — a compact made with 
 the Evil One to hinder the divine truth from reaching 
 the ears and the heart of a soul which is groping in the 
 darkness in search of it? Will you not be asked what 
 steps you took — you, a Catholic — to help your husband 
 in his struggle with scepticism and unbelief? And what 
 will your answer be ? ' 
 
 Hilda hid her face in her hands, and her bosom heaved 
 convulsively. The strain was too great after weeks of 
 doubt and self-torture. Father Galsworthy had struck a 
 chord on the keyboard of the Unknown which he knew 
 would find an awakening echo in the heart of the woman 
 before him. 
 
 ' There is yet another point to remind you of,' he con- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 151 
 
 tinned pitilessly. ^ You will soon be a mother. I need 
 not warn you of the bodily peril with whieh you must 
 shortly be brought faee to face. It is not the sense of 
 personal danger, or the fear that you might be called to 
 give an account of your stewardship sooner than you had 
 expected, which I should wish to be the means of arous- 
 ing you to a right understanding of your responsibilities. 
 The future of other souls, besides that of your husband, 
 may depend upon your recognising these responsibilities 
 — of souls yet to be born throughout all the ages. Arc 
 you prepared to face the risks of making no effort to 
 prevent your children, and those who come after them, 
 from being exposed to the influence of infidelity ? Is the 
 keeping of a promise, hastily made and indefensible in 
 itself, and the selfish dread of interfering with a material 
 happiness, to lose countless souls to the Church and work 
 your own future misery? Ah, my child, it is you, not 
 we, who do not understand I it is you who are walking 
 blindly and heedlessly towards an abyss, while we shrink 
 back appalled at what we see before you and those who 
 depend upon you, and strive to hold you back.' 
 
 ^ What can I do. Father ? Tell me, ^vhat can I do ? * 
 exclaimed Hilda, in a broken voice. 
 
 Father Galsworthy rose from his chair and paced up and 
 down the room with the firm, swinging step which belonged 
 rather to the cavalry officer than to the priest. 
 
 *Do?' he said abruptly. 'Your duty — that is what 
 you have to do. Refuse to listen any longer to the voices 
 which are striving to keep you from it. Answer them 
 that you know them for what they are, and whence they 
 come. They wiU soon leave you in peace. Break through 
 
152 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 this imaginary barrier which separates you from your hus- 
 band in spiritual things and only permits you the enjoy- 
 ment of material things. Oblige him to listen to you. 
 " The kingdom of Heaven sufFereth violence, and the vio- 
 lent do take it by force." You will have trouble, perhaps. 
 The tranquillity and domestic happiness which you have 
 prized so much, and for which you have risked so much, 
 may seem to break up and disappear for a time. But 
 what of that ? The knowledge that you are working to 
 save your husband's soul, that you are a Catholic fighting 
 for the cause of the Church, will support you through the 
 darkest hours. The Blessed Mother of God will be by 
 your side, and every day the path will become clearer to 
 you.' 
 
 Hilda sat listening in silence to Father Galsworthy's 
 words, her mind full of conflicting emotions. It was all 
 so plausible, and the Oratorian's advice was so sound, 
 
 but and here she found herself confronted by the 
 
 same doubts which she had experienced during her inter- 
 views with Father Vincent at Abbotsbridge. It seemed to 
 her that Father Galsworthy had taken her case out of her 
 hands and dexterously worked it up so that it no longer 
 was her own. He had imputed to her motives, thoughts, 
 and feelings which she was not conscious of possessing, 
 or of ever having possessed. He had taken it for granted 
 that she had deceived her relatives into believing her hus- 
 band to have an unsatisfied desire for some form of religi- 
 ous belief, and her conscience, to which her counsellor had 
 so often appealed, and of which he appeared to hold the 
 key, told her that she had done nothing of the kind. She 
 was convinced it was not she who had assumed that 
 
CASTING OF NETS 153 
 
 Walter would surely become a Catholic after his marriage 
 to her. The idea had beeu suggested to her — how, she 
 had no very clear remembrance — and she had caressed it 
 and dwelt upon it until she liad grown to regard it as a 
 fact. But Father Galsworthy had beeu so explicit in his 
 statement, so clear in his deductions, that she felt almost 
 persuaded she had indeed, as he said, aHowed the wish to 
 be father to the thought, and that she had traded upon 
 Walter's imaginary yearnings after religious faith in order 
 to overcome the difficulties which stood in the way of her 
 engagement, and the material satisfaction of her love. She 
 felt unable to separate in her own mind the truth of Father 
 Galswortliy's words from the untruth which she was 
 vaguely conscious lurked behind them, or the half-truths 
 in them wliich were the hardest of all to dispute. She 
 was not aware that she had been subjected to an experi- 
 mental system in a psychological laboratory, and her mind 
 was left dazed and confused, conscious only of doubt and 
 of a great w^eariness. 
 
 Had Father Galsworthy stopped short at attempting 
 to demonstrate her culpability in having allowed her 
 material love for her husband to permit her to deceive 
 herself and others, a sense of justice to lierself would 
 probably have asserted itself in Hilda, as it had done in 
 the case of her last interview with Father Vincent. At 
 the bottom of her heart there remained the consciousness 
 that her engagement to Walter Redman had been the 
 result of a mutual affection — a purely human love, with 
 which, whatever the priests might say, spiritual things 
 had nothing to do. It was in vain that she tried to 
 persuade herself that this was not the case. She had 
 
154 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 wanted to possess Walter, and Walter had wanted to 
 possess her. This was the stubborn truth, which in- 
 sisted upon asserting itself, notwithstanding all the 
 sophistries which sought to disguise it and hide it out 
 of sight beneath a cloak of spirituality, as though it were 
 some unclean thing. 
 
 Hilda was conscious of the fact that, when she and 
 her husband had fallen in love with one another, the 
 question of their individual ideas upon matters of religion 
 had been of no consideration whatever to either of them, 
 and she had been obliged to confess to herself that it 
 was only owing to the accident of her being a Catholic 
 that the question had ever arisen. It was her Church 
 which was responsible for the introduction of the super- 
 natural into the natural element of their affection. She 
 was quite aw^are that the Church to which her husband 
 nominally belonged would have advanced no such claims, 
 and would have formulated no such stipulations as those 
 to which the latter had been obliged to submit before 
 he could make her his wife. 
 
 The more closely she questioned herself upon the 
 subject, the clearer did it become to her that not only 
 had her anxiety that Walter should embrace her faith 
 been non-existent at the time when she first began to 
 love him, but that this had been an element which had 
 been introduced, or had introduced itself, gradually into 
 her love, and which was altogether extraneous to it. It 
 was in the introduction of this extraneous element that 
 the deception lay for which her spiritual directors and 
 her relations sought to hold her responsible. The single 
 deception, however, for which, in her calmer moments 
 
CASTING OF NETS 155 
 
 of reflection, she felt able to reproach herself, was the 
 promise made to her husband to leave him absolute free- 
 dom in his religious opinions when she had already allowed 
 herself earnestly to desire his conversion to her own. It 
 was Walter whom she felt she had deceived; not, as 
 Father Galsworthy insisted, herself and her relations. 
 
 So long as Father Galsworthy had confined his argu- 
 ments to these limits, Hilda had experienced a series of 
 conflicting emotions in which perplexity, distrust, and dis- 
 belief had in turn played their parts. The speciousness 
 of his arguments notwithstanding, she felt that he did not 
 comprehend her scruples and difficulties any better than 
 her Dominican adviser had done. 
 
 Father Galsworthy, however, had carried his reasoning 
 further than the latter. He had entrenched himself be- 
 hind the spiritual powers of the Church, and had revealed 
 a picture of the future results of Hilda's neglect to assert 
 the Church's claims the more terrible because, from all 
 which the Church taught her, and required her to believe, 
 it was a logical one. 
 
 Against the judgment of the Church, delivered by a 
 priest of the Church, there was no possible appeal, and 
 Hilda's religious training told her that Father Gals- 
 worthy's arguments as to the ine\dtab]c results of her 
 refusal to try and compass her husband's conversion both 
 to his soul and her own, and probably to those of their 
 descendants, were unanswerable. 
 
 A great horror possessed her as she listened to his 
 words. The question as to whether or not she were too 
 much under the domination of a carnal love, or^whether 
 or not she had allowed her conduct to be swayed by this 
 
156 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 love, shrank into utter insignificance beside the vista 
 which unfolded itself before her imagination in response 
 to Father Galsworthy's reasoning. How could she ven- 
 ture, in the face of such a warning, proceeding from 
 such a source, to refuse to act up to her responsibilities 
 as a Catholic? She had declared that she dared not 
 undertake the responsibility of interfering with her hus- 
 band's religion ; but could she dare to incur that of 
 allowing his soul to perish everlastingly for want of an 
 effort on her part to save it? And her children, when 
 they came — her little innocent children — what if they 
 should fall, as Father Galsworthy had warned her, under 
 the influence of their father's infidelity? Had she not 
 read that it was better for a man to have a millstone 
 hanged round his neck and to be cast into the sea, than 
 that he should offend one of Christ's little ones ? What, 
 then, should be the condemnation of a mother who had 
 left her little ones' souls in danger of eternal loss ? 
 
 As she listened to Father Galsworthy's words, memo- 
 ries of the old, peaceful life at Cawarden in the days of 
 her girlhood returned to Hilda's mind. She was in the 
 chapel again, kneeling before the high altar, joining in 
 the litanies and the hymns to the Blessed Virgin, or 
 bowing her head to receive the Body of her Saviour 
 from the hands of the old chaplain who had listened to 
 her childish confession and understood so well all her 
 childish troubles and diflficulties. It hfKl all been so 
 easy, and so happy, in those years when heaven and hell 
 seemed far-away places, and the troubles of tlie day 
 melted away in the hours of the night — to be forgotten 
 with the morrow's sun. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 157 
 
 Father Galsworthy had resumed Iiis scat and sat watch- 
 ing Hilda in silence. 
 
 Every now and then, as some door was opened, the 
 sound of chanting and the strains of the great organ 
 echoed down the corridor from the church, and penetrated 
 into the room, while from without came the confused 
 roar of the traffic and the cries of the flower-sellers. 
 
 Hilda rose from her chair. She was very pale, and 
 her face bore the traces of the emotion which she endeav- 
 oured to conceal. 
 
 ' Well, my child,' said Father Galsworthy, ' have you 
 considered carefully what I have told you ? Believe me, 
 the path is not so hard a one as you think.' 
 
 Hilda Redman looked at him. 
 
 ' Yes,' she replied ; ^ I have considered.' 
 
 ' And you will listen to the voice of the Church ? * 
 
 * I do not know.' 
 
 ' You do not know ? ' repeated Father Galsworthy, in 
 amazement. ^ My daughter,' he added, ' do you presume 
 to doubt the authority of that voice ? ' 
 
 'Not over myself — no, but over my husband.' 
 
 'The Church has authority over all souls, even over 
 those who are the most estranged from her. Think of 
 what I have said to you to-day, I implore of you, my dear 
 child. Do not allow valuable time to slip away, for who 
 can tell how much may be granted to you in which to 
 fulfil your duty? Reflect what the consequences must be 
 if you should only realize your responsibilities when it is 
 too late. You are tired, upset. Quiet reflection will calm 
 you and open your heart to the call of our holy religion. 
 Come to me again whenever you wish, but do not turn 
 
158 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 back from the task which Almighty God has sent you ; do 
 not dare to delay any longer in striving to execute it. Do 
 you wish to make your confession before you go?' he 
 added, taking up the stole from the table. 
 
 Hilda shook her head. 
 
 ' No, Father,' she said, in a low voice, holding out her 
 hand. ' I will leave you now. I am tired, and I want to 
 think.' 
 
 Father Galsworthy accompanied her to the door of the 
 
 room. 
 
 'You have your carriage waiting for you? ' he asked. 
 
 ' I told them to wait for me outside the door of the 
 church. I think I will go in there for a little while before 
 I go home.' 
 
 'Do, my child, and implore the aid of our Blessed Lady 
 of Good Counsel; said Father Galsworthy. ' Come this 
 way, then,' he added, and took her down a passage whence 
 a door communicated with the church. ' I will remember 
 you in the Holy Mass,' he said. ' God bless you, my child ! 
 Pray for me.' 
 
 And opening the door, he drew back, and allowed Hilda 
 to enter the sacred building alone. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 ' T ET us hope, Gweii, that she and Walter will regard 
 
 I -J it as a waniiug sent from God — a sign of His 
 displeasure/ 
 
 Lady Merton was sitting with lier daughter in tlie 
 library of the Redmans' house in St. James's Square. 
 Lady Gwendolen looked anxious and unhappy, and every 
 now and then she glanced nervously at the door, as if 
 expecting someone to enter it with news which might be 
 of a bad nature. 
 
 ' It is marvellous,' continued Lady Merton, * how clearly 
 God speaks to us sometimes ! Do not be afraid, Gwen ; I 
 feel sure that Hilda will recover, and in due time we shall 
 realize that, in His all-seeing wisdom. He has visited us 
 with this trial for a merciful purpose.' 
 
 ^I feel so terribly anxious,' exclaimed Lady Gwendolen, 
 ' even though Siddons' last report was more favourable. 
 Walter promised to let me know at six o'clock how she 
 was. It is past six now,' she added, glancing at the clock 
 on the chimney-piece. 
 
 ' At any rate,' said Lady Merton, ' Hilda is in good 
 hands. Siddons is wonderfully clever, and he is confident 
 that all will go well with her. I must say,' she continued, 
 ' that he has been very arbitrary in excluding us all from 
 her room, and I am very angry with him for refusing to 
 
i6o CASTING OF NETS 
 
 employ the Sister whom I recommended. She is an excel- 
 lent nurse, well accustomed to these cases, and it is shock- 
 ing to think that when her life is in danger poor dear Hilda 
 should be surrounded by nobody but Protestants. Do you 
 know what I cannot help suspecting, Gwen ? ' 
 
 ' What, mamma ? ' 
 
 ' Why, that Walter has persuaded Siddons not to allow 
 us to come near her, and that Sister Veronica was not per- 
 mitted to nurse her because she is a religious. They want 
 to keep all Catholics away from her.' 
 
 ' Oh, I really don't think so,' replied Lady Gwendolen. 
 * Siddons, of course, likes to have his own nurse in so crit- 
 ical a case — all these great accoucheurs do.' 
 
 'These doctors think of nothing but the body,' said 
 Lady Merton, sighing. 'I told Walter so, and I must 
 say he was quite rude to me. Ah ! ' she added, check- 
 ing herself abruptly as the door of the library opened, 
 'here he is.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen rose hurriedly from her seat, and went 
 forward to meet her son-in-law. 
 
 ' How is she ? ' she asked, in anxious tones. 
 
 ' Better, thank God ! ' said Lord Redman. ' Siddons is 
 much more satisfied about her.' 
 
 He was very pale, and his voice shook a little as he 
 replied to Lady Gwendolen's question. 
 
 ' Can I see her ? ' asked the latter. 
 
 'I am afraid not. She must see no one.' 
 
 Lady Merton gave a snort of disapproval. 
 
 ' Really, Walter,' she said, ' is her own mother always to 
 be kept from her? That is carrying things a little too 
 far/ 
 
CASTING OF NETS i6i 
 
 Lord Redman looked at her (quietly. 
 
 ' Do you think so ? ' he replied coldly. 
 
 Lady Merton felt considerably ruftled in her temper. 
 She was not accustomed to haviii^^ her opinions ignored, 
 and the tone of Walter Redman's voice was more than 
 significant. 
 
 *I certainly do think it,' she returned, * and so does 
 your mother-in-law. I never heard of anything so mon- 
 strous in my life.' 
 
 ' Had you not better tell Dr. Siddons so ? I am only 
 repeating his directions.' 
 
 'Well, Walter,' answered Lady Merton, 'of course, if 
 you like to deprive your wife of the consolation of having 
 her mother and those of her own faith about her when 
 she is lying at death's door, I have nothing more to say.' 
 
 Lord Redman made a step towards her, and seemed as 
 though he were about to reply angrily. Whatever his 
 inclination may have been, however, he restrained it. 
 
 ' I am glad,' he answered, ' that you have nothing more 
 to say on this point. Lady JMerton ; ' and then he turned 
 to Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 ' Siddons thinks that there is every probability of her 
 doing well now,' he continued ; ' but I am sure you will 
 understand me, Lady Gwendolen, when I say that it is 
 still absolutely necessary to keep her perfectly quiet. 
 Your presence would excite her, and any excitement 
 might be fatal.' 
 
 Lady Merton got up from the armchair in which she 
 had been sitting. 
 
 'Will you be so kind as to ring and ask for my 
 carriage ? ' she said to Lord Redman. ' If we are never 
 
 11 
 
i62 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 to be allowed access to Hilda, I do not see the use of 
 my remaining. Gwen,' she continued, turning to her 
 daughter, 'you will stay here again to-night, I con- 
 clude, in case Hilda should not be so well.' 
 
 Walter accompanied Lady Merton to her carriage, 
 which had been waiting at the door for her, and it was 
 with a feeling of relief that he watched it drive away. 
 
 * A little more,' he muttered to himself as he turned to 
 re-enter the house, 'and I should have lost my temper 
 and told that old cat some home-truths ! ' 
 
 The day before Walter had been hastily summoned 
 from a debate in the House of Lords by a messenger who 
 brought him the tidings that Hilda had been suddenly 
 taken ill. Knowing that her confinement was not ex- 
 pected to take place before another month had elapsed, 
 and full of anxious misgivings, he jumped into a hansom 
 and drove rapidly home. Since her arrival in London, 
 Lord Redman had noticed that his wife looked even paler 
 and more suffering than she had done at Abbotsbury, 
 and he had taken an opportunity of having a private 
 interview with Dr. Siddons on the subject of her health. 
 
 The opinion of that great accoucheur confirmed the 
 suspicions which he had formed at Abbotsbury as to the 
 causes of Hilda's anxious and troubled demeanour. 
 
 ' Lady Redman has something on her mind,' Dr. Sid- 
 dons told him, after he had paid Hilda one or two visits. 
 'There is nothing organically wrong, and everything is 
 I)ursuing its normal course, so far ; but some extraneous 
 causes are threatening to exert a prejudicial effect upon 
 her state of health. Have you any clue as to what may 
 be troubling her ? ' he inquired. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 163 
 
 Walter had hesitated to mention his suspicions, as to 
 the correctness of which he felt lie had no positive evidence. 
 
 * I have thouglit it possible,' he replied, ' that my wife 
 is troubling herself about religious matters. She is a 
 Roman Catholic, and I am not. There are no disagree- 
 ments between us on this point,' he had hastened to add, 
 ^ and we never discuss the subject.' 
 
 The doctor looked thoughtful. 
 
 ^ Ah ! ' he said, ^ religion has played me a bad turn 
 more than once in my profession. If you take my advice, 
 Lord Redman, you will keep her mind off the subject as 
 much as you can. The time to think about religion is 
 when w^e are well. It is a very poor doctor.' 
 
 When Walter reached St. James's Square he found his 
 wife very ill. There was no doubt as to wiiat was about 
 to happen, and a messenger had already been despatched 
 to summon Doctor Siddons. Hilda begged her husband 
 not to leave her until the latter should arrive, and he had 
 to promise her again and again that he would not do so 
 before she would be pacified. He saw that she followed 
 his movements with a look in her eyes which was both 
 apprehensive and frightened, as though she dreaded to 
 lose sight of him for an instant. 
 
 Presently she said to him, in a low, faint voice : 
 
 * Walter!' 
 
 He bent over her tenderly. 
 
 ^ I want you to promise me something. You will think 
 it very strange, I know^, but you will promise, will you 
 not?' 
 
 She gripped his hand feverishly, and her face was 
 flushed as she gazed at him intently. 
 
i64 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' Of course, dear, of course ! ' he answered soothingly. 
 ' Siddons will be here directly, and the pain will soon be 
 over,' he added. 
 
 ' It is not the pain,' said Hilda hurriedly. ' It is very 
 bad, but it is not that. I want to tell you before they 
 come. Do not let them come, Walter. Promise me that 
 you will not let them come/ 
 
 'Who, dearest?' 
 
 * They will come and tell me terrible things,' she con- 
 tinued excitedly. ' You do not know, but they have told 
 me such dreadful things, and I am frightened, Walter. 
 Promise me,' she exclaimed again, with her eyes fixed 
 upon his face. 
 
 Walter Redman looked keenly at her. For a moment 
 he believed that she was wandering in her mind. 
 
 ' No,' she said, as though divining his thought — ' no, I 
 am not raving. Promise me.' 
 
 * Nobody shall come near you whom you do not want,' 
 he answered her gently. * I am here to take care of you. 
 But tell me who you mean. Who has been frightening 
 you? ' 
 
 Even as he spoke the suspicion as to whom she referred 
 struck him, and the thought made his blood boil within him. 
 ' Tell me,' he said again, almost imperiously. 
 
 * My grandmother — and Father Galsworthy/ whispered 
 Hilda, casting a terrified glance at the door : * my mother, 
 too. It is not her fault, but they make her tell me things 
 — such terrible things, Walter ! I do not want them to 
 come to me, and I know that they will if you do not pre- 
 vent them.' 
 
 Walter Redman ground his teeth. * 
 
CASTING OF NETS 165 
 
 ' They shall not conic near you, Hilda ; I swear it,' he 
 said. 
 
 She lay back with a sigh of relief, and then smiled at 
 him — a faint, wan little smile. 
 
 ' That is enough,' she whispered. * I know that you 
 keep your promises. There is one more thing,' she added. 
 'Do not let them send anybody — no nurse, I mean, or 
 doctor.' 
 
 ' Siddons will take charge of you,' Walter said gently. 
 'Do not be afraid. You are quite safe with him, and 
 no one shall come in here without his permission.* 
 
 At this moment Hilda's maid entered the room. 
 
 ' Lady Gwendolen Cawardeu is here, my lord,' she said 
 in a low^ voice. 
 
 Hilda clutched his arm. 
 
 ' No, Walter — no ! ' she exclaimed. 
 
 'Hush!' he said. 'Listen, Hilda.' And then, in a 
 louder voice, he said to the maid : ' Tell Lady Gwendolen 
 that I am with her ladyship, and that nobody else can see 
 her until Dr. Siddons arrives.' 
 
 As the woman turned to leave the room, the door 
 opened a second time, and Dr. Siddons came in, followed 
 by a nurse. 
 
 Hilda looked at the latter, and then glanced at her 
 husband inquiringly. 
 
 ' One of your nurses? ' asked Walter of the doctor. 
 
 The latter looked surprised. 
 
 ' Yes,' he replied. ' Fortunately, I knew^ w^hcre to find 
 her, so I brought her with me. You had better leave us 
 now. Lord Redman. I will come to you later on.' 
 
 Walter looked at his wife. Dr. Siddons' presence 
 
i66 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 seemed to have had a tranquilliziog effect upon her, 
 and he himself felt somewhat reassured by the latter's 
 quiet, confident manner. With a silent pressure of 
 Hilda's hand he left the room. 
 
 As he descended the staircase he encountered Lady 
 Gwendolen, accompanied by a nun. 
 
 'Dr. Siddons is with her now,' he said to his mother- 
 in-law. 
 
 as it ' 
 
 'Yes, undoubtedly; but I know nothing. Siddons 
 has this moment arrived.' 
 
 As he spoke, Walter looked at the nun and then at 
 Lady Gwendolen. 
 
 'This is Sister Veronica,' explained the latter. 'A 
 nurse will be a necessity. Sister Veronica is admirable 
 in these cases, and has the highest certificates. Of course, 
 my mother and I guessed what was wrong. When the 
 message reached me I was at her house, and my mother 
 sent for Sister Veronica instantly. Had she not better 
 go to Hilda at once ? ' 
 
 ' Sister Veronica's services will not be required,' replied 
 Lord Redman somewhat curtly. ' I am sorry that Lady 
 Merton had the trouble of sending for her. Siddons, of 
 course, prefers his own nurses, and he has brought one of 
 them with him. She is already assisting him.' 
 
 Lady Gwendolen looked somewhat taken aback. 
 
 'My mother will be very disappointed, Walter,' she 
 said. ' She has great confidence in Sister Veronica.' 
 
 Her son-in-law did not reply. 
 
 ' James,' he called to a servant who was waiting in the 
 hall, ' get a cab for this lady.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 167 
 
 Lady Gwendolen interposed nervously. 
 
 'Oh, Walter!' she said, 'had we not better wait for 
 my mother? She is coming here immediately.' 
 
 Lord Redman turned to the Sister. 
 
 ' I am sorry,' he said courteously, ' that you should have 
 Lad the trouble of coming here, but, as you see, Lady 
 Merton has made a mistake.' 
 
 'Perhaps,' said Sister Veronica, 'a second nurse may 
 be necessary. If so, I should be very pleased to place 
 myself at Dr. Siddons' service.' 
 
 ' Thank vou ; but if Dr. Siddons finds that a second 
 nurse is required, he will make his own arrangements. 
 The case is entirely in his hands.' 
 
 Sister Veronica made no reply. At this moment the 
 footman informed Lord Redman that a cab was at the 
 door, and she followed him to it. 
 
 Walter and Lady Gwendolen went into the library, 
 and no sooner had the hansom left than Lady Merton's 
 carriage drove up to the house, and she was shown into 
 
 the room. 
 
 ^My dear Walter,' she said, as the door closed upon 
 her, ^I need hardly ask what is the matter. Poor dear 
 Hilda ! What can have brought it on so soon ? How- 
 ever, let us trust that all will be well. Let me see, eight 
 months, is it not ? To be sure, it would have been better 
 had it been seven ; but, as I say, we will pray that all 
 may go well with her and the child. Siddons is here, 
 of course, and the nurse I sent directly the news reached 
 us ? Sister Veronica is an admirable nurse, Walter, and 
 a very holy w^oman. She will be a great comfort to dear 
 Hilda.' 
 
i68 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'The person you sent has gone away, Lady Merton; 
 her services here are not required.' 
 
 * Not required I ' exclaimed Lady Merton. ' But, Wal- 
 ter, of course they are required ! Hilda must have a 
 nurse.' 
 
 ' She has one. Siddons has provided for that.' 
 
 * And you have sent Sister Veronica away ? Gwen, 
 what were you thinking of to allow such a thing ? What 
 do we know of this nurse of Dr. Siddons ? Hilda would 
 naturally have preferred a Sister of Charity about her, 
 and Sister Veronica is a lady. She belongs to the Order 
 of St. Vincent de Paul, and besides being a trained nurse, 
 she is a true saint.' 
 
 Walter Redman looked her full in the face. 
 
 * My wife has more need of bodily assistance just now 
 than of spiritual advice. Lady Merton,' he replied quietly. 
 
 Lady Merton cast down her eyes. 
 
 'It seems to me that you forget Hilda is a Catholic, 
 Walter,' she said. 'We do not look upon these things 
 in the same light that you do. I am deeply grieved,' 
 she added, 'to think that my grand-daughter should be 
 deprived of the services of a person whose presence by 
 her sick-bed would have been the greatest consolation 
 to her. However, you are dans voire droits and we can 
 say nothing.' 
 
 Fearing lest he should be led into making remarks 
 which he might afterwards regret, Walter left the two 
 alone together, after telling them that he would bring 
 Dr. Siddons to them so soon as the latter should have 
 left Hilda. 
 
 The air of the library seemed to stifle him, and he felt 
 
CASTING OF NETS 169 
 
 that he coukl no longer endure Lady Merton's presence. 
 Restless and uneasy, he wandered about the house, strain- 
 ing his ears to catch the faintest sound, yet dreading to 
 hear anything. Hours seemed to have passed before he 
 heard low voices in the corridor outside Hilda's room, and 
 Dr. Siddons came down the staircase. 
 
 His face was grave, and Walter's heart sank within 
 him as he studied it. 
 
 ^ Lady Redman is in a very critical state,' he said. 
 ' I need hardly tell you that it is a case of premature 
 confinement.' 
 
 Lord Redman led him into his own room, which ad- 
 joined the library. 
 
 i Ig she ' he began ; then his voice failed him, and 
 
 he stood looking at Dr. Siddons in silence. 
 
 The latter knew what he wished to ask ; he heard the 
 question so often. 
 
 'I hope not,' he replied, 'and I think not. But it 
 would be useless to disguise to you that the case is 
 critical. There are many such, however, and I have seen 
 recoveries made from more serious ones than this.' 
 
 'The child?' 
 
 * Stillborn,' answered Dr. Siddons — * a male child.' 
 
 ' It is better so,' said Lord Redman. 
 
 The doctor glanced at him with surprise. 
 
 ' That is the cause of all the trouble/ he remarked. 
 
 ' Perhaps so. You are naturally better able to judge 
 than I. Dr. Siddons,' added Walter suddenly, 'can you 
 account for this premature confinement?' 
 
 ' I cannot,' replied the doctor. ' Can you tell me of 
 anything which may have caused it ? Lady Redman has 
 
lyo CASTING OF NETS 
 
 not been over-exerting herself, or committing any impru- 
 dences, I suppose ? ' 
 
 ^She has not been over-exerting her body, certainly. 
 You discovered for yourself that she was over-exerting 
 her mind. Could this fact be in any way responsible for 
 her present state ? ' 
 
 ^ I should think it could indeed ! ' exclaimed Dr. 
 Siddons. ' When I visited Lady Redman,' he continued, 
 ^ I found, as I told you at the time, that, so far as I could 
 judge, things were pursuing their normal course, but my 
 observation of her convinced me that she was labouring 
 under some very marked distress of mind. The fact 
 made me uneasy lest it should cause mischief, and I can- 
 not say that it was altogether a surprise to me when 
 I was summoned here to-day and found her in this 
 condition.' 
 
 ' Dr. Siddons,' said Walter, ' I can, I know, rely upon 
 your discretion and silence if I tell you of certain matters 
 the knowledge of which may assist you in your treatment 
 of my wife's case.' 
 
 The doctor bowed. 
 
 ' Of course. Lord Redman, I regard such confidences as 
 sacred,' he replied. 
 
 ' I have just discovered,' continued Walter, ' that my 
 wife has been far more distressed in her mind than I have 
 suspected. I thought, as I told you, that she was troub- 
 ling herself over the difference in our religion, and I had 
 very good reasons for believing that her anxieties were 
 largely due to outside influences which were being brought 
 to bear upon her. Before your arrival to-day I was with 
 her, and I then discovered that she was in a condition, 
 
CASTING OF NETS 171 
 
 not of mental uneasiness and distress only, but of positive 
 terror.' 
 
 Dr. Siddons looked at liini curiously. 
 
 ' Ah ! ' he said sharply, ^ about what ? ' 
 
 ' I think that it will only be necessary for mc to tell 
 you of a promise which she implored me to make her in 
 order to enable you to form your own conclusions on that 
 point,' replied Walter. ' My wife,' he continued, ' asked 
 me to promise her that neither her own relatives nor any 
 person sent by them, nor a priest to whom, I believe, she 
 is in the habit of confessing, should be allowed to come 
 near her in her illness.' 
 
 ^ You promised this, of course ? ' 
 
 ' Of course ! I tremble to think what the effect of not 
 having done so would have had upon her. I did more, 
 Dr. Siddons : I promised her that you, no less than my- 
 self, would make it impossible that anyone should approach 
 her except those whom you authorized to do so.' 
 
 'You did quite rightly. Lord Redman. But are you 
 not, perhaps, attributing a little too much importance to 
 Lady Redman's words ? You must remember that women 
 in her state are apt to take strange fancies into their 
 heads. Besides this, the pain and the physical fear from 
 which she was suffering would naturally have unnerved 
 her.' 
 
 'Her mother. Lady Gwendolen Caw^arden, and her 
 grandmother. Lady Merton, are in the next room,' replied 
 Walter quietly, pointing to the library. ^ When I left you, 
 and the nurse whom you brought with you, with my wife, 
 I went downstairs to see Lady Gwendolen, w^ho had al- 
 ready arrived. I met her on the staircase, accompanied 
 
172 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 by a nun — a Sister Veronica — who, she explained, had 
 been engaged as a nurse for my wife by Lady Merton. 
 The latter has assured me that Sister Veronica is not only 
 a certificated nurse, but also a saint.' 
 
 * And what did you do, Lord Redman ? ' 
 
 ' I told the footman to call a cab.' 
 
 The gravity of Dr. Siddons' face relaxed for a mo- 
 ment. 
 
 'I am very glad you have told me,' he said, after a 
 pause ; ' and you were quite right in saying that I should 
 be able to form my own conclusions on the subject. I 
 have formed them, and, so long as Lady Redman remains 
 under my care, I shall be guided by them.' 
 
 'I trust to you to use your authority as her doctor, 
 should it be required,' said Walter. 
 
 ' Do not doubt it. And now,' continued Dr. Siddons, 
 ' I must return to my patient. I hope that I may be able 
 to give you a better report towards evening. For the next 
 few hours I shall not leave the house.' 
 
 'If you can stay a few moments more before you go up- 
 stairs, I should be glad if you would come with me into 
 the library,' said Lord Redman. ' Lady Gwendolen will 
 be very anxious to hear your report, as, naturally, I have 
 not been able to tell her anything definite.' 
 
 The two went together into the adjoining room, where 
 Lady Gwendolen and her mother were sitting talking in 
 low tones to each other. 
 
 ' Here is Dr. Siddons,' Walter said, and they both came 
 anxiously forward to question him. 
 
 ' I cannot commit myself to an opinion,' the doctor re- 
 plied in answer to their demands. ' Lady Redman is in a 
 
CASTING OF NETS 173 
 
 very critical condition — a premature confinement of a 
 stillborn child — a boy.' 
 
 Lady Merton wiped her eyes with her pocket-handker- 
 chief. 
 
 ' It is a judgment ! ' she said in an undertone to her 
 daughter. 
 
 ' Can I not see her, Dr. Siddons ? It would be such 
 a comfort to me only to be in the room, and to feel 
 my daughter knew that I was with her ! ' said Lady 
 Gwendolen. 
 
 ' Impossible ! ' answered Dr. Siddons gravely. ' I am 
 sorry to be obliged to refuse you. Lady Gwendolen, but 
 nobody except myself and the nurse must enter my 
 patient's room. I will not answer for the consequences 
 if my directions are disregarded.' 
 
 ' I am afraid there has been a misunderstanding about 
 the nurse. Dr. Siddons,' said Lady Merton. ' I had 
 engaged a Sister in whose skill I have great confidence, 
 but Lord Redman tells me that you have no need of 
 her, and he has sent her away.' 
 
 'Lord Redman is quite right,' replied Dr. Siddons. 
 ' I make a point of being assisted in my cases by nurses 
 whose capabilities are personally known to me.' 
 
 ' But perhaps a second may be required ? I can easily 
 send again for Sister Veronica. Would it not be wiser ? ' 
 asked Lady iSIerton. 
 
 'I do not require a second nurse, Lady Merton, and 
 should it become necessary to engage one, I must still 
 insist that she shall be a woman who is accustomed to 
 nursing under my orders. I do not know Sister Veronica. 
 My nurses,' he added dryly, ' have only one calling in life. 
 
174 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 If they take to a second, I cease to entrust my patients to 
 their charge.' 
 
 ' But, Dr. Siddons, I don't think you quite understand, 
 and neither does Lord Redman,' returned Lady Merton. 
 ' My daughter and I are positive that it would be a great 
 consolation to your patient to have a person of her own 
 faith about her. To us Catholics these things, which no 
 doubt appear to you to be unimportant, are very precious.' 
 
 Dr. Siddons smiled a little sarcastically. 
 
 ' I beg your pardon. Lady Merton. You are quite 
 right : I did not understand you. I thought that you 
 were recommending Sister — Veronica, is it ? — as a 
 nurse. I regret to say that Lady Redman is not at 
 present in a condition to occupy herself with spiritual 
 matters. It would be highly injurious to her bodily 
 health to do so.' 
 
 Lady Merton shrugged her shoulders and turned away 
 from him somewhat abruptly. 
 
 ^Are we, my daughter and I, to understand that we 
 are forbidden to approach Lady Redman ? ' she asked 
 presently. 
 
 ' Yes, if you please,' replied Dr. Siddons suavely ; ' that 
 is my request, as Lady Redman's medical adviser.' 
 
 'Walter,' said Lady Merton, 'what is your opinion? 
 Do you wish your wife to be debarred from the presence 
 of her own relations — her own mother — at such a 
 moment ? ' 
 
 ' Certainly, under the circumstances.' 
 
 Lady Merton glanced at him, one of her oblique little 
 glances from beneath her half-closed eyelids. 
 
 'Under what circumstances?' she asked. 'Could any 
 
CASTING OF NETS 175 
 
 circumstances doniaiul a mother's presence more urgently 
 than the present ? ' 
 
 Dr. Siddons interposed a little hastily, lie had seen a 
 look on Lord Redman's face which betrayed the hitter's 
 rising anger. 
 
 ' I am sorry to appear to be such a tyrant,' he said. 
 ^But I am sure you will remember, Lady Merton, that 
 a grave responsibility rests with us doctors in such a 
 case as Lady Redman's. My professional experience 
 tells me that she must be kept from all risks of excite- 
 ment or emotion. You and Lady Gwendolen must exer- 
 cise a little patience, if you will pardon me for telling you 
 so. The next few hours will, I have every reason to hope, 
 bring with them an improvement ; but for the present, 
 and, indeed, for some days to come, I must insist that, 
 while I am in charge of Lady Redman's case, my instruc- 
 tions shall be scrupulously carried out. If you will excuse 
 me,' he added, * I must return at once to my duties.' 
 
 Walter Redman and he left the library together. 
 
 ' You see how matters stand,' said the former, as they 
 went up the staircase. ^ I can rely upon you, doctor, to 
 help me to protect my wife from these good ladies ? ' 
 
 ' You may, indeed. Lord Redman. It is not the first 
 time I have met with this sort of thing in my career, as I 
 told you the other day, I think, when you came to see me.' 
 
 ^ You can give me some hope ? ' asked Walter earnestly, 
 as they reached the landing near which Hilda's rooms were 
 situated. 
 
 * Yes,' replied Dr. Siddons, ' I can. Lady Redman is 
 strong and healthy. Of course, unforeseen circumstances 
 may occur — one never can be sure in these cases for some 
 
176 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 days, as you know. If all goes well, however, during the 
 next twenty-four hours, I shall be able to speak with 
 greater confidence. But pray understand. Lord Redman, 
 that I do not at all regard the case as hopeless, but only as 
 critical.' 
 
 ' May I see her ? ' 
 
 ' Not yet. Later on — to-morrow perhaps — it may do 
 her good to see you for a few minutes. Possibly,' he 
 added, with a smile, 'it will help to pacify the ladies 
 downstairs if they know that I have excluded you from 
 her room.' 
 
 ' And you can trust the nurse not to admit anyone, 
 under any pretext ? ' 
 
 'Certainly! You need be under no fear about that. 
 She will carry out my instructions implicitly.' 
 
 Dr. Siddons left Walter in the corridor, and disappeared 
 noiselessly into his patient's room. Lord Redman felt no 
 inclination to face Lady Merton and his mother-in-law 
 again for the present. The words which had escaped his 
 wife, the confession that had so evidently been wrung from 
 her by pain and nervous terror, had horrified and disgusted 
 him. He knew Hilda well enough to feel sure that she 
 must have suffered far more in her mind than he had any 
 idea of. Had it not been so, he felt convinced that she 
 would never have opened her lips on the subject. He 
 could vaguely guess at those terrible things which had been 
 told to her, and which, during the months of her preg- 
 nancy, had worked upon her imagination and her fears 
 until they had left her a prey to hideous anxieties which 
 had brought about the present catastrophe. If she died, 
 he thought, with impotent rage in his heart, these pious 
 
CASTING OF NETS 177 
 
 people would have murdered lier, as they had murdered 
 her ehild — his child. They would talk about their God, 
 and their imaginary saints, and their holy religion, and 
 they would have Classes said for her soul. Walter Red- 
 man walked savagely up and down the thickly-carpeted 
 corridor outside the room where his wife lay, consuming 
 himself in his own thoughts, and cursing the God whose 
 worshippers and votaries were such as these. It was as 
 well that Lady Merton could not see him just then or be 
 inspired to know his reflections. 
 
 So the weary hours of that day passed, amidst hopes 
 and fears, a deep and bitter anger, and an immeasurable 
 disgust. 
 
 As evening came on, Dr. Siddons had left Hilda^s 
 bedside, and he and liord Redman dined alone together. 
 Lady Merton and Lady Gwendolen ate their meal in 
 dreary solitude in the big dining-room, waited upon by 
 domestics whose countenances bore traces of sorrow 
 and anxiety, for Hilda was greatly beloved by all her 
 husband's household. 
 
 Hilda was still in the same state, and Dr. Siddons 
 determined to pass the night in the house, in case of 
 any change for the worse taking place. Walter had 
 ordered a room to be prepared for Lady Gwendolen 
 also. He was sorry for the latter in her anxiety, and 
 he remembered how Hilda had made excuses for her 
 mother for the part she had taken. He reflected that, 
 after all, Lady Gwendolen had honestly opposed her 
 daughter's marriage, and had yielded at the advice of 
 Lady Merton. He felt, however, that he could encounter 
 neither Lady Merton nor his mother-in-law again that 
 
 12 
 
lyS CASTING OF NETS 
 
 day, and the presence of Dr. Siddons afforded an excuse 
 to the two men to dine alone together — an excuse which 
 the doctor seized upon no less readily than did his host. 
 
 That night Walter lay down upon a couch in his 
 dressing-room, which was close to his wife's room. He 
 had fallen into a troubled sleep towards morning, worn 
 out with anxiety and mental fatigue. He woke with a 
 start to find Dr. Siddons standing beside him. 
 
 * Come ! ' the latter said to him hurriedly. ' Lady 
 Redman must see you at once.' 
 
 He sprang from the sofa, and then he staggered a little. 
 
 ' Is she worse ? ' he asked. 
 
 ' She is terribly excited, and I fear it may make her 
 worse. She had been sleeping quietly enough, but she 
 woke with a start, and is asking repeatedly for you. 
 She may be more quiet when she has seen you.' 
 
 They entered Hilda's room together. 
 
 'Here is your husband. Lady Redman,' said Dr. 
 Siddons gently. 
 
 Walter went to her side and knelt down by the bed. 
 
 ' I am here, Hilda,' he said. ' What is it, dear ? ' 
 
 She looked at him with wild, frightened eyes. 
 
 * Walter ! ' she exclaimed, ' stay with me ! Why did 
 you leave me ? I thought they had taken you away from 
 me ' 
 
 * Who could do that, dearest ? You have been asleep 
 and dreaming.' 
 
 A slight shiver shook her. Dr. Siddons looked at her 
 narrowly. 
 
 She groped feebly for her husband's hand, and held it 
 in hers. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 179 
 
 * Yes,' she said eagerly ; ' it was a dream — nothing 
 but a dream; but it frightened me, Walter. They said 
 
 you were lost — and the ehild What did they 
 
 mean wheu they said I had done it? That was not a 
 dream ; he told me so — Father Galsworthy. But it 
 is n't true, Walter — tell me that it is n't true ! ' 
 
 ^ Hilda, it is a lie ! Do you understand ? It is a 
 damnable lie ! ' 
 
 The words rang out and resounded through the room. 
 The nurse shrank back, and Dr. Siddons laid his linger on 
 his lips with a warning gesture. 
 
 Hilda looked at him ; her face flushed, and she 
 smiled. 
 
 ^ I knew, Walter — I knew ' she said. 
 
 The colour in her face faded away, to be replaced by 
 a deadly pallor. She lay motionless, her eyes, which a 
 moment before had been full of feverish brilliancy, still 
 open, and fixed upon her husband's face. 
 
 ^ She is going ! ' exclaimed the nurse, in a hushed voice. 
 
 Dr. Siddons bent over the bed. 
 
 ' Lady Redman,' he said, in a loud and authoritative 
 voice, leaning over her until his mouth nearly touched 
 her ear — ^ Lady Redman, you must rouse yourself ! Do 
 you hear me? Yoio must! Your husband wants you.' 
 And then he shook her. 
 
 A moment of breathless suspense followed his sudden 
 action. Then Hilda's face quivered slightly and her lips 
 parted in a faint sigh. 
 
 ' Hilda ! ' 
 
 A gleam of recognition stole into Hilda's eyes, and very 
 slowly a suspicion of colour returned to her face. 
 
i8o CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Dr. Siddons made a rapid sign to the nurse, and took 
 a glass from her hand. 
 
 * Swallow ! ' he said imperiously, holding it to Hilda's 
 lips. 
 
 Gradually her consciousness returned to her. Walter 
 felt the failing hand within his own tremble, and then he 
 became sensible of a slight pressure. Dr. Siddons had 
 laid his fingers on her other wrist. 
 
 Presently she turned her head a little, and then she 
 spoke, but so faintly that Walter had to lean over her 
 till their faces almost touched, in order to catch her 
 words. 
 
 ' You want me, Walter ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, I want you.' 
 
 ' I heard someone tell me. I was sleepy ' 
 
 She lay quiet for a short time, and then her eyes closed. 
 
 Walter looked at Dr. Siddons — a look of agonized 
 uncertainty. 
 
 ' Do not move I ' the latter said in a low voice. 
 
 A few minutes passed, and then he motioned the nurse 
 away from the bed and lifted his touch from Hilda's 
 pulse. 
 
 ' Let her feel your hand in hers when she awakes,' he 
 whispered to Lord Redman. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 IN the beginning of August Mrs. Russell paid her pro- 
 mised visit to Lady Merton at Ware. The Russells 
 were in the habit of taking an annual holiday from their 
 parochial duties at Abbotsbury for six weeks or so to- 
 wards the end of summer, and the Rector liad no difficulty 
 in finding some hard-worked brother divine who was de- 
 lighted to take the Sunday services at Abbotsbury for 
 that period, and exchange the responsibilities of a thickly 
 populated town parish for the lighter labours of a country 
 cure. 
 
 Lady Merton had of course felt herself obliged to in- 
 vite Mr. Russell as well as his wife to spend a few days 
 at AYare. The Rector, however, had excused himself, 
 feeling, possibly, that his position as an Anglican clergy- 
 man in a Roman Catholic house would be somewhat 
 invidious, and that his acceptance of the invitation would 
 be embarrassing to its donor and to himself It had been 
 arranged, therefore, that Mary Russell was to go by her- 
 self to Ware for a few days, and that she should join the 
 Rector in the Isle of Wight at the conclusion of her visit. 
 
 The news of Lady Redman's premature confinement 
 had been received with genuine sorrow and consterna- 
 tion at Abbotsbury, and both Mr. and iNIrs. Russell were 
 surprised at the feeling shown by all classes in the neigh- 
 
i82 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 bourhood when it became known that Hilda was dancfer- 
 ously' ill. It was a revelation to them how completely 
 she had succeeded, in the space of a few months, in 
 winning the affection and esteem of all the people at 
 Abbotsburj and for many miles round it. 
 
 Perhaps Mr. Russell was not altogether sorry that the 
 child had been stillborn. He could not reconcile him- 
 self to the idea of Abbotsbury passing into Roman Cath- 
 olic hands, and he remembered that should the present 
 owner of it have no son, the title and estates would de- 
 volve, at the latter's death, on the son of his predecessor 
 in the living, Walter Redman's first cousin. The Rector 
 had reminded his wife of this fact, and, while honestly 
 praying that Lady Redman might recover, had pointed 
 out that it would be, after all, very much to the advantage 
 of Abbotsbury if she were to have no children, or, at any 
 rate, no sons. 
 
 Mr. Russell had thought his wife rather unresponsive 
 on the subject ; indeed, he felt rather ashamed of having 
 alluded to it when poor Hilda was lying so ill, and sus- 
 pected that Mary thought him unfeeling for doing so. 
 It was very natural, he reflected, that she should sym- 
 pathize with Lady Redman in the latter's disappoint- 
 ment. The Russells themselves had no children, and 
 Mr. Russell knew that the fact was a great sorrow to 
 his wdfe, and thought that it doubtless made her more 
 ready to feel for Hilda. During the last few months he 
 had noticed that she hardly ever spoke of the misfortune 
 of her cousin's wife being a Roman Catholic, as she had 
 formerly been so ready to do. Occasionally he had re- 
 minded her half laughingly of her idea that he should be 
 
CASTING OF NETS 183 
 
 the means of converting Hilda from Iltjman Catholicism 
 to Anglicanism, but Mary Russell had answered him that 
 she thought such tilings were best left alone. She had 
 entertained the idea, she explained, wiien they neither 
 of them knew Ilikla, and had tliought that she might be 
 a person who would attempt to make mischief at Ab- 
 botsbury. The Rector had been by no means ill-pleased 
 that his wife's Protestantism should have moderated it- 
 self. Things were going on very well as they were, and 
 he was fain to admit that Lady Redman was most scrup- 
 ulous in never seeking to undermine the authority of the 
 Rectory and the parish church in Abbotsbury, and that 
 she appeared to regard her religion as a purely personal 
 matter. Mr. Russell had congratulated himself more 
 than once that the two houses should continue to be on 
 such friendly terms as to make the fact of the mistress 
 of the Hall being a Roman Catholic a mere accident, 
 which he found himself able almost entirely to forget, 
 and w^ould probably have forgotten completely had it 
 not been for the thought of the future, when the Catholic 
 influence must infallibly impress itself upon the village 
 and neighbourhood. 
 
 Mary Russell had never spoken to her husband of her 
 conversations either with Lady Merton or with Walter 
 Redman. She had, it is true, sometimes talked to him 
 on the subject of the latter's scepticism, and had told 
 him she felt con\inced that Hilda would be much happier 
 if she could feel that Walter was a conscientious believer 
 in his own Church. This was a matter, however, in 
 which Mr. Russell, much as he deplored it, knew himself 
 to be powerless to interfere. Lord Redman had given 
 
i84 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 him the living of Abbotsbury, but he had, at the same 
 time, made Mr. Russell clearly understand that he placed 
 him there to minister to the spiritual needs of the Abbots- 
 bury parishioners, and that though he, Walter Redman, 
 should always support the Church, the Rector must not 
 expect him to be what he would consider a Churchman. 
 To do him justice, Mr. Russell had often suffered from 
 scruples of conscience as to whether he were not sadly 
 failing in his pastoral duties in making no effort to combat 
 the scepticism of his principal parishioner, and he had at 
 first attempted to speak to Lord Redman on the matter. 
 Walter, however, was not a very easy person to approach 
 on such questions. The Rector had found it impossible 
 to induce him to talk on religious topics, or to betray any 
 interest in them. 
 
 Walter's absolute indifference had baffled Mr. Russell. 
 Had he ever shown signs of resentment, or of active 
 opposition, the Rector would have considered it to be 
 his duty to argue with him and to attempt to convince 
 him; but when he found himself met, as he invariably 
 had so found himself, by a good-humoured unconcern, 
 he had been compelled to retire discomfited, and to tell 
 his wife that he believed her cousin to be the re-incar- 
 nation of some pagan of old Greece. It was impossible, 
 however, to pretend that Lord Redman's paganism was 
 injurious to the moral welfare of Abbotsbury, and the 
 Rector was sufficiently a man of the world to know that 
 a constant attendance at church and an edifying frequen- 
 tation of the Sacrament were quite compatible with lives 
 very different from that led by the sceptical patron of his 
 benefice. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 185 
 
 Mr. Russell had no idea of the understandine: which 
 existed between his wife and Lady Merton, nor that the 
 two were in frequent correspondence. The invitation to 
 Ware had been cordially given when Lady Merton had 
 left Abbotsbury in January, and it had been an understood 
 thing between the Rector and Mary Russell that the 
 latter should accept it. 
 
 The events which had occurred since then had caused 
 Lady Merton to be more anxious than ever that Mrs. 
 Russell should come and stay with her, and when August 
 came, Mr. Russell had taken himself and his bicycle off 
 to the Isle of Wight, leaving his wife to pay her visit at 
 Ware alone. 
 
 The late Lord Merton had left Ware to his widow for 
 her lifetime, together with a large jointure to enable her 
 to keep it up. At the time of her husband's death Lady 
 Merton was still a Protestant, her conversion to Rome 
 not taking place until three or four years afterwards. 
 The INIerton estates were large, and Ware was not the 
 principal place belonging to the family. The latter had 
 passed to Lady Merton's only son, who, together with his 
 sister, the Duchess of Wearmouth, and another unmarried 
 sister w^ho preferred to live by herself, had resolutely 
 declined to be convinced by his mother's arguments and 
 those of the priests who she had hoped would convert 
 them to her new faith. 
 
 Under Lady Merton's rule, Ware had become a great 
 centre of Catholicism in England. The atmosphere was 
 one of picturesque religion, but Lady Merton was careful 
 to infuse into it a little worldly oxygen. It was by no 
 means a Catholic house in the sense in which Cawarden 
 
i86 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 and many others similar to the latter were Catholic 
 houses. The taint of provincialism and restriction to 
 a narrow and not-too-well-cducated set was altogether 
 absent from Ware. Its mistress was too much a woman 
 of the world to tolerate the elimination of worldliness 
 from her house. Her passion in life being to bring souls 
 into the Church, Lady Merton was clever enough to 
 temper her Catholicism to her non-Catholic guests, and 
 to allow the latter to find themselves in surroundings 
 which were doubly attractive on account of an artistic 
 blending of the vanities of this world with the most 
 pleasing of the supposed attributes of the next. 
 
 At her parties at Ware, Lady Merton made a point 
 of having a certain number of Protestants among the 
 guests, and among these there was almost invariably 
 a promising candidate for conversion. She prided her- 
 self upon the fact that the atmosphere of Ware had been 
 the means of causing not a few to leave their Protestant- 
 ism behind them when they had once breathed it. 
 
 She intended that Ware should represent a species of 
 object-lesson to those without the Church who were 
 invited to stay there. They were to feel themselves 
 under the spell of a religion which would show them 
 how mistaken they were in thinking that Catholics were 
 eccentric sectarians who sought to make life dull and 
 unlovely, and who were altogether unfashionable. In 
 the foreground of the picture was all that the most 
 fastidious worldling of either sex could require in a 
 modern country-house. Indoors was luxury studied in 
 all its details, pleasant and remarkable people, absolute 
 liberty of conversation and ideas ; out of doors was good 
 
CASTING OF NETS 187 
 
 shooting, properly organized, for tlie men, and other 
 amusements, and both indoors and out a eertain indefin- 
 able sense of ease and freedom from all stiffness wliieh 
 made Ware eompare favourably with any country-house 
 in the land as a place in which to pass a three or four 
 days' visit pleasantly. But it was the background of the 
 picture which formed its chief attraction to the vast 
 majority of Lady jNIerton's guests. Catholic and Protestant 
 alike. The latter, indeed, were more struck by it than 
 the former, as it was intended that they should be. 
 
 In this background, behind all the comfort, the luxury, 
 and the pleasant worldliness, a sense of something not of 
 this world — peaceful, serene, mysterious — asserted it- 
 self, as though some unseen Presence were in the house. 
 In the midst of the talking and the laughter, or even 
 breaking in upon the rattle of roulette balls, would sound 
 the soft, deep tones of a church bell, and people would 
 slip away quietly from the drawing-rooms and disappear 
 for a while. Perhaps some of the Protestant members of 
 the party would follow out of curiosity, and find them- 
 selves in the lofty, dimly-lighted chapel which Lady 
 Merton had built at great cost, and filled with rare 
 marbles and works of art brought from Italy and Spain. 
 The lamp burning before the high altar shone like a red 
 star in the dusk, and a faint, lingerhig scent of incense 
 filled the air, for Lady Merton possessed the privilege of 
 having the Host reserved in her chapel at Ware. A 
 finely-wrought statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, with 
 lighted tapers burning before it, stood out white and 
 gleaming in the sanctuary. The silence was only broken 
 by the murmur of a priest, the domestic chaplain, reciting 
 
i88 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 a portion of the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, and the 
 voices of the kneeling worshippers repeating in quick 
 monotony the latter part of the Paternoster and ten Hail 
 Marys, which followed the recital of each Mystery. 
 
 The contrast between the brilliantly lighted drawing- 
 rooms and the worldly occupations just left, and the 
 quiet, peaceful chapel, was great and almost startling. 
 It impressed even those to whom such things said little. 
 The actuality of the next world seemed to be brought 
 suddenly and sharply into the carelessness of everyday 
 life; the Known felt itself to be face to face with the 
 Unknown, and everyone, worshipper or mere spectator, 
 found himself confronted with the uncomfortable con- 
 sciousness of his own mortality. A few minutes would 
 pass, and the priest would disappear into the sacristy, 
 the worshippers would silently leave the chapel and 
 return to the drawing-rooms, and in some way or another 
 the object-lesson would have had its effect. 
 
 Mrs. Russell found a very small party assembled at 
 Ware on her arrival. It was, as Lady Merton had 
 warned her, only a family gathering. Lady Gwendolen 
 and her son were staying there, and one of Lady Merton's 
 converts, Mrs. St. Leger, a middle-aged widow, with a 
 devotion to St. Anthony of Padua and the Peerage. A 
 young nephew of Lady Gwendolen's, who was studying 
 for the priesthood, and an English monsignore from 
 Rome, made up the party, and Mary Russell found her- 
 self the only member of it who was not a Catholic. 
 
 The cordiality of her welcome quickly removed any 
 little embarrassment which Mrs. Russell might have felt 
 at being, so to speak, an intruder. Lady Merton was an 
 
CASTING OF NETS 189 
 
 admirable hostess ; she knew liow to put people at once 
 at their ease, and before INIary Russell had been an hour 
 in the house she had been made to feel that she was a 
 welcome guest. 
 
 Mrs. St. Lcger devoted herself to Mary Russell from 
 the first. She and Lady Merton were a groat deal to- 
 gether. She generally accompanied the latter to Rome, 
 and assisted her in her entertaining in the Via Gregoriana. 
 Mrs. St. Leger's reputation for piety was second only to 
 that of Lady Merton herself. She had fashioned the raw 
 material of many a convert, and shaped it preparatory to 
 its recei\ang the finishing touches from Lady Merton's 
 master-hand. This, indeed, was her humble mission in 
 life, but, in the fulfilment of it, she moved, more especially 
 in Rome, in social spheres which as a Protestant she had 
 never hoped to enter. Somebody had once described 
 Mrs. St. Leger as a religious noiweau riche, and her 
 spiritual riches certainly obtained for her consideration 
 and respect in the clerical world at Rome, while her 
 intimacy with Lady Merton was accepted as a sufficient 
 guarantee of her social position by the unsuspicious 
 Romans, and by the English of the class in which 
 Lady Merton's conversions were chiefly, though not 
 entirely, made. 
 
 The week of Mary Russell's visit to Ware was a very 
 hot one, and it was pleasanter to sit or stroll in the 
 gardens after dinner tlian to remain in the house. Mrs. 
 St. Leger attached herself to the new-comer on the first 
 night of the latter's arrival, and the two walked about the 
 garden together after dinner, while Lady Merton and the 
 remainder of the party sat outside the open windows of 
 
I90 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 the drawing-room. It was perfectly natural, under the 
 circumstances, that their conversation should touch upon 
 Abbotsbury and the Redmans. Mary Russell, indeed, was 
 anxious to obtain news of Hilda. She had not seen the 
 latter since her serious illness, neither had Hilda written 
 more than a few lines, in which she told her that she and 
 Walter would not be returning to Abbotsbury until late in 
 the autumn, as she was ordered by the doctors to go to 
 the sea as soon as she should be well enough to leave 
 London. 
 
 ^ Poor dear Lady Merton ! ' said Mrs. St. Leger with a 
 sigh, as she and Mary Russell walked up and down in 
 front of the house together. ' She is so unhappy about the 
 Redmans! Lady Redman is quite her favourite grand- 
 child, you know, Mrs. Russell.' 
 
 ^ But Hilda is making a very good recovery,' replied the 
 latter. 
 
 'Ah yes, mercifully, so far as the body is concerned; 
 but it is the state of her soul which is distressing dear 
 Lady Merton so much. Would you believe it? Lady 
 Redman has never been allowed to see her relatives alone 
 since her illness. On the rare occasions when her mother 
 and Lady Merton have been admitted to her room, either 
 Lord Redman or a person whom the doctor insists on 
 placing in charge of her has invariably been present. Even 
 her spiritual director. Father Galsworthy, has not suc- 
 ceeded in having any private conversation with her.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell looked exceedingly astonished. 
 
 * What an extraordinary thing ! ' she exclaimed. ' What 
 can be the reason of it ? I am sure that Hilda — Lady 
 Redman — would not have wished to be deprived of the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 191 
 
 society of her relations, and the consolation of seeing 
 Father Galswortliy. T suppose Dr. Siddons is responsible 
 for it' 
 
 Mrs. St. Lcger shook her head mysteriously. 
 
 'Of course,' she replied, 'that is the excuse which is 
 given by Lord Redman.' 
 
 ^ I am sure that my cousin would not take such a step 
 unless the doctor had recommended it,' said Mary Russell. 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger sighed again. 
 
 'It is quite natural that you should think so,' she 
 
 said, ' but ' and then she paused hesitatingly. ^ It 
 
 is rather a delicate matter to discuss with you, Mrs. 
 Russell,' she continued ; ^ you and Lord Redman are 
 relatives, and you cannot, of course, look at the question 
 from Lady Merton's point of view.' 
 
 ' I do not see why,' said ]Mary Russell. 
 
 * Oh, well, my dear Mrs. Russell, you arc not one of us, 
 you see. That makes all the difference. You cannot be 
 expected to realize how great a sorrow it is to dear Lady 
 Merton and to Lady Gwendolen to feel that Lady Redman 
 is surrounded by anti-Catholic influences. This makes it 
 very difficult to talk to you on the subject. I should not 
 like to say anything which might hurt your feelings, for 
 you and Lord Redman are both Protestants. You belong 
 to the same Church, and you would naturally, therefore, 
 sympathize with his action.' 
 
 ' Not at all ! ' exclaimed ^lary Russell warmly. ' You 
 may regard my cousin Walter Redman and myself as 
 belonging to the same Church, but I assure you, Mrs. 
 St. Leger, that we hold very different \iews. My cousin 
 is practically a free-thinker and I am an Anglican. If I 
 
192 
 
 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 thought that he was seeking to deprive his wife of the 
 comforts of her religion, I should disapprove of his action 
 quite as much as Lady Merton could do. I know, of 
 course, that to you we are all free-thinkers, and that you 
 Roman Catholics see no difference between us.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger smiled — a quiet, superior little smile. 
 
 ' Yes,' she replied, * in a sense you are right. To us 
 Catholics those who are not within the Church are all 
 free-thinkers. Your differences of opinion do not alter 
 your position in our eyes. The most advanced Ritualists 
 and the most confirmed agnostics are equally Protestants 
 so far as we are concerned.' 
 
 Mary Russell did not answer immediately. 
 
 * But why should you think that my cousin has other 
 motives for preventing his wife from seeing her relations in 
 private than those which he has given ? ' she asked, after 
 a pause. ' I have often noticed,' she added, ^ how careful 
 Walter is not to interfere with her religion in any way.' 
 
 * Ah ! ' replied Mrs. St. Leger, ' there are more insidious 
 ways of undermining a person's faith than by open inter- 
 ference. I am afraid dear Lady Merton thinks that Lord 
 Redman is taking advantage of his wife's affection for him, 
 and is trying gradually to contaminate her with his own 
 infidel ideas. I hear that Lady Redman is very unhappy, 
 poor thing ; but apparently, since her illness, she has not 
 got the mental strength to shake herself free from the con- 
 spiracy of which she is a victim. But I ought not to talk 
 of these things to you, Mrs. Russell ; I am forgetting all 
 the time that you are a Protestant.' 
 
 Mary Russell winced a little. Somehow the term 
 * Protestant ' jarred upon her. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 193 
 
 * I shall bo very ghid if you will talk to iiic about it,' 
 slic replied. ' I had no idea that things were as you 
 dcseribe them, and perhaps 1 could be of some use. My 
 cousin and 1 have had several conversations together 
 about his wife's unhappiness concerning his lack of faith. 
 No doubt Lady jNlerton will have told you.' 
 
 * She told nie that you were doing your best to awaken 
 some religious belief in Lord Redman's heart,' said Mrs. 
 St. Leger ; * but oh ! dear Mrs. Russell, unless it is the 
 true belief, what will it avail him ? ' 
 
 Mary Russell sighed. 
 
 * It all seems so plain and so simple to you who belong 
 to what you are convinced is the only true Church,' she 
 said. * I envy the people who were born Roman Catholics.' 
 
 * Ah yes, indeed ! ' said Mrs. St. Leger. * Converts like 
 myself know how many a struggle with prejudice and 
 error we have to undergo before the grace comes to us 
 to discern the truth.' 
 
 ^ You became a Roman Catholic, then ? ' asked Mary 
 Russell. 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger smiled. 
 
 ' Yes,' she replied softly, with an upward glance. * In 
 His great mercy God opened my eyes to the truth and 
 led me into His Church. I used to call myself, as you 
 do, an xVnglican. When I look back to those days, it 
 seems incredible to me how I can have been so blinded. 
 Ah ! ' she exclaimed, * here is Lady Morton coming to- 
 wards us. She will scold me for monopolizing your 
 society, Mrs. Russell.' 
 
 They paused in their walk in order to allow Lady 
 Morton to join them. 
 
 13 
 
194 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * What are you two in such deep conversatiou about ? ' 
 
 she asked, smiling. 
 
 * I was giving Mrs. Russell some news of Lady Red- 
 man,' said Mrs. St. Leger. 'She had not heard of her 
 for some little time.' 
 
 ' So sad ! ' murmured Lady Merton, ' so very sad — 
 poor dear Hilda ! ' and then she paused and looked at 
 Mrs. Russell. 'Has Mrs. St. Leger told you/ she con- 
 tinued, 'that neither my daughter nor myself has ever 
 been allowed to see Hilda alone ? ' 
 
 'I cannot understand it,' said Mary Russell. 'Surely 
 she is not so ill now as to make it necessary for her 
 relations to be kept away from her?' 
 
 'She is making a wonderful recovery,' returned Lady 
 Merton. 'The whole thing is preposterous,' she added, 
 ' and Walter is behaving disgracefully ! We have not 
 the slightest doubt that her illness was entirely brought 
 about by the distress of mind which he has made her 
 suffer ; and now, when she is weak and unable to assert 
 herself, he has got that abominable doctor to tell her 
 that she must not even see Father Galsworthy. Even 
 the old priest at Cawarden, who has known her ever 
 since she was born, was refused admittance. Gwendolen 
 sent him to St. James's Square, and your cousin told 
 him that Hilda was very sorry, but she was unable to 
 receive him. Of course, all this is put into the poor 
 child's head by those who are secretly working to estrange 
 her from our holy religion.' 
 
 ' Dear Lady Merton,' expostulated Mrs. St. Leger gently, 
 'remember that our friend here is a Protestant. She 
 cannot be expected to understand our grief and indigna- 
 
CASTING OF NETS i 
 
 95 
 
 tiou at tlic fiiilurc of Lord Redman to keep the promises 
 he made when he married a Catholic.' 
 
 Lady Merton sighed. 
 
 ' That is very true, Emily/ she said. ' I beg your 
 pardon, my dear Mrs. Russell,' she added ; ' I should 
 have remembered that you are not a Catholic. You can- 
 not understand how jealously we are obliged to guard our 
 faith from contamination in this Protestant country. As 
 you know/ she continued, ' I was always opposed to this 
 marriage between your cousin and Hilda. I do not ap- 
 prove of mixed marriages. But I and all of us were mis- 
 led by Lord Redman's apparent honesty of purpose. I 
 must say that I always felt uneasy about the future. I 
 do not want to offend you, dear ^Irs. Russell, but I have 
 known so many instances in which your co-religionists 
 have broken their promises after marriage with a Catholic, 
 and have tried to evade the obligations into which they 
 had to enter in order to obtain the sanction of the Church 
 to their union. Emily/ continued Lady Merton, turning to 
 ]\Irs. St. Leger, ' go back and amuse the others like a good 
 creature. Mrs. Russell and I will rejoin you presently.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger retraced her steps obediently towards 
 the house. Lady Merton looked after her with a benevo- 
 lent little smile. 
 
 ' Such a pious soul ! ' she said in an undertone to her 
 companion. * Like yourself, Mrs. Russell, she used to 
 be very much prejudiced against the Church, but now 
 she is a fervxnt Catholic. She has a great devotion to 
 St. Anthony of Padua. It is truly marvellous how many 
 graces he has obtained for her.' 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 ^ TT is a great pity that the child did not live,' said Mary 
 X Russell when Mrs. St. Leger had left them. ^ It 
 would have been a bond of union between Walter and 
 Hilda. I am sure Walter would have kept his word, 
 and that he would have made no difficulties about its 
 religious training.' 
 
 ^ I wish I could think that they would both look upon 
 what has happened as a sign of Almighty God's dis- 
 pleasure,' replied Lady Merton. ' Hilda, I am convinced, 
 must feel it to be so. I had hoped so much from your 
 influence with her, dear Mrs. Russell ! Your letters were 
 a sad disappointment both to Gwendolen and myself.' 
 
 'Hilda made it impossible to me to speak about her 
 husband,' said Mary Russell. 'After all,' she continued, 
 'you must remember that I am not a Catholic, Lady 
 Merton. Just before you joined us Mrs. St. Leger was 
 saying that you Catholics recognise no difference between 
 believing and unbelieving Protestants. To you we are 
 all in the same category. No doubt Hilda considers that 
 if her husband is not a Catholic, it matters little whether 
 he is a believer in his own Church or not. I can only 
 account for the way in which she met my attempts to 
 induce her to try and make him believe in something by 
 assuming that she feels this.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 197 
 
 Lady Mertoii paused for a nioiiicnt before replying. 
 
 * Emily St. Leger is a very devoted Catholic/ she 
 observed. * I often tell her that she is a little too uncom- 
 promising in her judgment upon people who are outside 
 the Church. She cannot distinguish between those who 
 are wilfully blind to the truth and those who, conscien- 
 tiously searching for it, only lack the grace to discern it. 
 I do not suppose for a moment that Hilda would not listen 
 to you because you are a Protestant. I wish I could think 
 so — it would be more excusable.' 
 
 Mary Russell looked a little offended. 
 
 * Yes, my dear,' continued Lady Mcrton, * it would be 
 more excusable from our point of view. It would be a 
 proof that Hilda refused to be satisfied with anything less 
 than her husband's conversion to the Church, and that she 
 would countenance no attempt to make him believe in any 
 form of religion but the true one.' 
 
 *But you told me at Abbotsbury that she would be 
 content to feel that Walter had any religious faith,' said 
 Mrs. Russell. 
 
 ^ Quite true, my dear,' replied Lady Merton. * I did say 
 so, and at that time both her mother and I thought it. 
 Of course we should prefer to see Walter Redman a 
 Catholic ; it would be absurd to pretend that we should 
 not. As this seemed to be impossible, so far as our human 
 foresight could judge, it would have been at least some 
 consolation to think that he was a conscientious Protestant, 
 and this is what we felt sure that Hilda most earnestly 
 desired. It was for this reason that we sought your help 
 — as a Protestant.' 
 
 * It was not of much use,' said Mary RusselL 
 
198 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * No, and this is what distresses us all so much/ replied 
 Lady Merton. 'Now that we are alone together,' she 
 continued, ' I can explain to you what I mean. Unfortu- 
 nately, we have too much reason to suspect that Hilda is 
 allowing herself to become indifferent to her husband's 
 spiritual welfare. At one time, as I told you at Abbots- 
 bury in the winter, her letters were full of misgivings and 
 anxiety about him. She used to declare that she should 
 be happy if only she could feel that he was a true mem- 
 ber of your creed. By degrees, however, other influences 
 have gained the mastery over her, and she is sacrificing 
 everything to these.' 
 
 ' What influences ? ' asked Mary Russell. 
 Lady Merton cast down her eyes. 
 
 * Oh, my dear,' she said, * I hardly like to tell you. I 
 fear — well, I fear that Hilda is becoming a slave to her 
 carnal love for her husband. They are perfectly happy 
 together — in this sense of the word " happiness " — and 
 she has ceased to wish for anything higher. It is a state 
 of moral apathy from which nothing can rouse her. It 
 is so clear to me tliat this terrible confinement has been 
 sent by God in His mercy in order to make her reflect and 
 repent. And now, at the very time when she might listen 
 to advice, your cousin has practically isolated her from all 
 her own belongings. Can you wonder that we are dis- 
 tressed, Mrs. Russell ? ' she concluded, sighing. 
 
 ' But this state of things cannot last, dear Lady Merton,' 
 replied Mary Russell. ' Hilda wrote to me some time ago 
 to say that she was getting much stronger, and that she 
 hoped, after a few weeks by the sea, to be quite herself 
 again. It would be impossible for Walter to continue to 
 
CASTING OF NETS 199 
 
 separate her from Lady Gwendolen and you when once she 
 is well. When they return to Abbotsbury I shall certainly 
 do my best to speak both to her and to Walter. He and 
 I have had more than one conversation together, as I told 
 you.' 
 
 * Yes,' answered Lady Mcrton. ^ I remember that you 
 wrote to me about it. You will not think me indis- 
 creet, I hope, if I ask you whether anything which he 
 said gave you the impression that he distrusted Hilda's 
 family ? ' 
 
 Mary Russell hesitated. 
 
 ^ Distrust — no,' she replied. ' But ' 
 
 * I hope you will be open with me, dear Mrs. Russell,' 
 said Lady Merton gently. ' You need not be afraid of 
 quoting your cousin's words. I am sure that you are as 
 anxious as we are that all should go well with him and 
 Hilda, and I think that, should Walter have taken any 
 unjust ideas into his head, you are probably the person 
 who will best be able to remove them.' 
 
 ' Well,' answered Mary Russell, ^ I am afraid Walter 
 thinks that in some way his wife is being worried and 
 made unhappy over her religion. I think he suspects 
 the Dominican Father at Abbotsbridge, to whom Hilda 
 used, I believe, to go to confession, of unnecessarily dis- 
 turbing her mind.' 
 
 Lady Merton laughed softly. 
 
 ' It is so funny,' she said, ' the absurd ideas which 
 Protestants get hold of about us ! We do not go to 
 confession in order to have our peace of mind disturbed, 
 but in order to regain it when we have lost it. But your 
 cousin need not hold us responsible for what Hilda may 
 
200 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 have been told at Abbotsbridge,' she added, with a quick 
 glance at Mrs. Russell. 'It is quite possible that this 
 Dominican may have spoken to her seriously if he believed 
 that she was not acting up to her duty. Some priests are 
 over-zealous occasionally, and Dominicans are apt to be 
 severe.' 
 
 ' It was very evident that something was troubling 
 Hilda,' replied Mary Russell. ' She used to go over to 
 Abbotsbridge very frequently, and Walter thought that 
 she always looked more worried after her visits there.' 
 
 'And, of course, concluded that her religion was to 
 blame for it,' said Lady Merton. 'It was perfectly 
 natural that she should be troubled, dear Mrs. Russell. 
 Her conscience was perpetually reproaching her for allow- 
 ing considerations of her worldly happiness to interfere 
 with what she knew to be her responsibilities towards 
 her husband's spiritual welfare. Her letters to us showed 
 very plainly the state of her mind. Lord Redman, of 
 course, has never been able to realize that, to a Catholic, 
 duty towards the Church supersedes all other calls. He 
 has been disappointed and mortified to find that Hilda's 
 religion has so much hold over her, and now, under the 
 plea of her health, he is striving to prevent its influence 
 from reaching her.' 
 
 At this moment the bell of the chapel interrupted 
 their conversation, and Lady Merton turned towards the 
 house. 
 
 ' We always have prayers at ten o'clock,' she explained, 
 as she led the way into the drawing-room, where the 
 others had preceded them. 
 
 After a minute or two everybody moved towards the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 201 
 
 chapel. Mary Russell bung back and opened one of 
 tbe books lying upon a little table. Iler hostess had 
 not invited her to accompany them, and she hardly 
 knew whether it would not be resented were she to do 
 so unasked. 
 
 'Will you not join us, Mrs. Russell ? ' said a soft voice 
 at her elbow ; and, turning round, Mary Russell saw Mrs. 
 St. Leger standing by her side, 
 
 * I do not know/ she began hesitatingly. ' Will not 
 Lady ]Merton be surprised at seeing me ? ' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger smiled. 
 
 * Dear Lady Merton ! ' she said. ' She is much too 
 absorbed in her devotions to notice who comes and who 
 stays away I I am sure she would wish you to join us, 
 if you feel inclined to do so.' 
 
 Mary Russell followed her to the chapel and knelt on 
 one of the cushioned chairs while Lady Merton's chaplain 
 recited a portion of the Rosary. The quiet devotion of 
 the scene impressed her, and she found herself wondering 
 how it was that Roman Catholics were able to make their 
 religion so completely a part of their everyday life. It all 
 appeared to be so natural and so unstrained ; and she could 
 not help thinking of the Rector's attempts to induce his 
 parishioners at Abbotsbury to come to church on other 
 occasions than those of the orthodox Sunday serWces, and 
 the difficulties and heart-burnings which resulted from 
 them. 
 
 In a few minutes all was over, and they returned to the 
 drawing-room together. Lady INIerton was the first to 
 rise from her knees, and her eyes rested for a moment on 
 Mary Russell as she passed her. She made no comment, 
 
202 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 however, to Mrs. Russell afterwards on the fact of the 
 latter having been present; and Mary thought that, as 
 Mrs. St. Leger had said would be the case, she had not 
 noticed she was there. 
 
 ' The chapel is very pretty, is it not ? ' Mrs. St. Leger 
 said to her as they sat down on a sofa in the drawing- 
 room. 
 
 ' Yes ; it must be a great pleasure to have so beautiful 
 a chapel in the house.' 
 
 ^ And the inestimable privilege of being allowed to re- 
 serve the Blessed Sacrament there,' added Mrs. St. Leger. 
 ' The concession was specially granted to dear Lady Merton 
 from Rome. I wonder if you feel the mysterious influence 
 of that Holy Presence ? I suppose not,' she added pen- 
 sively. ' I suppose that you are too much separated from 
 us to be able to feel it as we do.' 
 
 * How long have you been a Roman Catholic, Mrs. 
 St. Leger ? ' asked Mary Russell. 
 
 'I became a Catholic five years ago,' replied Mrs. St. 
 Leger ; ^ but it seems to me as though I had never been 
 anything else. The old days seem as if they formed part 
 of the life of another person. I cannot realize that I was 
 once a Protestant.' 
 
 ' It must require great courage to take such a step,' said 
 Mrs. Russell thoughtfully. 
 
 * I do not think so. When once conviction comes, the 
 claims of the Church become so clear, her summons so 
 imperative, that it would require far greater courage to 
 refuse to listen to her voice.' 
 
 ' Since I have learned more about your religion and read 
 some of your books on the subject, I often envy you all. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 203 
 
 It must be so comfortable to feel that you belong to an 
 infallible Church — that you have no individual responsi- 
 bility beyond obedience to the precepts of that Church. 
 How different it is with us in the Anglican communion ! 
 We have no infallible counsellor to wliom we can turn for 
 advice in our spiritual doubts and difficulties.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger smiled. 
 
 'But, my dear Mrs. Russell,' she replied, 'you Prot- 
 estants are by way of not requiring any such infallible 
 guide and counsellor. You have God, you say, to whom 
 you can turn, and you ignore the fact that He constituted 
 a Church which was to speak in Ilis name, and by His 
 authority.' 
 
 ' We claim to be a branch of that Church.' 
 
 'No doubt. But can you prove your claim? You 
 know that we Catholics do not admit it. The Holy 
 Father has pronounced against the validity of your Orders, 
 thereby demolishing the last support upon which that 
 claim could logically rest.' 
 
 'What would my position be, as the wife of an An- 
 glican priest, if I accepted that decision ? ' asked Mary 
 Russell. 
 
 Lady Merton approached them at this moment, and 
 overheard her question. 
 
 ' What decision ? ' she asked, smiling. ' I hope,' she 
 added, ' that Emily has not been talking theology to you, 
 Mrs. Russell ? ' 
 
 'The decision of the Vatican regarding our Anglican 
 Orders,' replied Mary Russell. 'I was asking Mrs. St. 
 Leger what my position would be if I believed that the 
 Pope was right.' 
 
204 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'Your position,' said Lady Merton slowly, 'would be 
 exactly the same as it was before.' 
 
 ' But my husband ' 
 
 ' My dear, you married your husband because he was a 
 man, not because he was a priest. The Pope's decision 
 cannot unsex him.' 
 
 Mrs. Russell laughed in spite of herself. 
 
 ' I have never looked at the matter in that light,' she 
 answered. 
 
 ' I do not know what you and Emily were discussing,' 
 returned Lady Merton, sitting down by them. 'I am 
 only supposing the case that you accepted the decision 
 as to the invalidity of the Anglican Orders, and, there- 
 fore, could no longer believe Mr. Russell to be a true 
 priest.' 
 
 ' It would be a terrible position.' 
 
 'I do not see why. It is a position in which many 
 have found themselves of recent years.' 
 
 'A wife must believe in her husband,' said Mary 
 Russell. 
 
 'Certainly!' replied Lady Merton. 'It is very much 
 better when she is able to do so ; but she is not bound 
 to believe in his errors. Besides,' she added, 'when a 
 person has once accepted the teaching of the Church on 
 any point of doctrine or faith, no mere worldly considera- 
 tion can be taken into account. Our Lord says distinctly 
 that all earthly ties, even those between parents and 
 children, must be severed if they interfere with the de- 
 sire to follow Him. Well, my dear, we Catholics know 
 that there is only one way by which He can surely be 
 followed, and that is by the path which His Church 
 
CASTING OF NETS 205 
 
 points out to us. If wc deliberately refuse to take that 
 way, we lose ourselves and grope blindly after the truth, 
 ever straying more widely from it.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Lcger sighed. 
 
 'Dear Lady Merton!' she exclaimed, 'it is so true! 
 Your words bring back to me the time when I, too, was 
 losing my way. Who knows whether, but for you, t 
 should not have lost it irretrievably?' 
 
 * I was an instrument, Emily,' murmured Lady Merton 
 < only an instrument. No one knows better than my- 
 self the difficulties and uncertainties through which Prot- 
 estants have to pass before the final moment of conviction 
 comes. But when it does come, the whole glorious fact 
 seems to reveal itself in a flash. The darkest places in 
 the doubting mind are illumined, and our doubts them- 
 selves shrivel up and disappear under the searching radi- 
 ance of the Divine truth.' 
 
 Mary Russell sat and listened in silence. Nothing in 
 Catholicism impressed her so much as the strong, un- 
 doubting faith which its members displayed in their 
 Church, and the calm, tranquil conviction with which 
 they regarded that Church as the sole exponent upon 
 earth of the Divine will and authority. She felt that 
 if she were once persuaded of the truth of the claim of 
 Rome to be the one and only legitimate repository of that 
 authority, she would be able to accept all the doctrines 
 of the Roman Church which had formerly appeared to 
 her to be so anti-spiritual and superstitious. 
 
 The antagonism which she had entertained against 
 the Church of Rome had given Mrs. Russell a keen 
 interest in Roman Catholicism, and this interest had 
 
2o6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 been enhanced by the accident of having been brought 
 into almost daily intercourse with a member of that 
 communion. The books which, at Mary's special re- 
 quest, Hilda Redman had lent her, had aroused in her 
 an eager desire to learn more of a religious system which 
 she had once so thoroughly despised. Beyond the limited 
 occupations which her husband's parish afforded, life at 
 Abbotsbury was a little aimless. The cares and duties 
 of the mother of a family had been denied to Mary Russell, 
 and she disliked dogs. The sudden introduction of a 
 Roman Catholic element into her surroundings had un-- 
 doubtedly supplied her with a fresh interest in life, and, 
 little by little, this interest had become very engi'ossing. 
 Perhaps not the least fascinating part of it was the feeling 
 that the subject to a clergyman's wife was, or should be, 
 forbidden; though it is doubtful whether Mary Russell 
 was more than dimly conscious that she was influenced 
 to a certain extent by that attraction which forbidden 
 fruit has for each of us. 
 
 She had long ceased to discuss Roman Catholicism 
 with the Rector, and the latter had no idea that his 
 wife had been diligently reading every book dealing 
 with the subject from the Catholic point of view which 
 she had been able to obtain. The two or three volumes 
 which Hilda had lent her had merely been, as it were, 
 the gate through which she had entered into the field 
 of Catholic controversial literature. She had sent for 
 many of the works referred to in them, and in their pages 
 had found confutation of all her most cherished prejudices, 
 and more than a hundred and one plain reasons for joining 
 the Church of Rome. The Rector of Abbotsbury never 
 
CASTING OF NETS 207 
 
 knew how much unorthodox literature lay hidden among 
 the books in his wile's sitting-room. At first, in the days 
 when she still talked about Romanists, Mr. Russell used 
 to wonder how she knew so nmch about their tenets, and 
 would conclude that her obviously extended knowledge 
 was the result of her friendship with Lady Redman. By 
 degrees, however, as Mary Russell pursued her studies, 
 she experienced an ever-increasing difficulty and reluctance 
 in discussing religious topics with her husband. She 
 secreted her books more carefully than before, and this 
 reticence and secrecy became something in the nature of 
 an excitement — a feature in her otherwise prosaic life at 
 Abbotsbury which gradually brought a new note and 
 colour into it. 
 
 * Ah ! ' she exclaimed, as Lady Merton finished speak- 
 ing, ' it is all so easy for you who have the con\iction 
 that your Church is the only true one. If I were con- 
 vinced- ' she added, and then she stopped short. 
 
 * But I do not want to be convinced,' she said, after a 
 pause. ' It is all very well for people who can join your 
 Church without distressing others who depend upon them.' 
 
 Lady Merton and IMrs. St. Leger looked at her curiously 
 and then at one another. 
 
 * My dear,' said the former gently, ' we have no right to 
 place other people's prejudices before the salvation of our 
 own souls. If you are ever genuinely convinced of the 
 truth, you will realize that no such considerations can be 
 allowed to stand in the way of obedience to the voice of 
 the Church. You are thinking of your husband, of course, 
 and it is very natural that you should do so. Now, I am 
 putting a merely hyi)othetical case. Supposing you be- 
 
2o8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 came convinced that you and he were members of a false 
 Church ; would you allow consideration for his feelings to 
 stand in the way of your attempting to save yourself and 
 him from such a perilous position ? Would it not be your 
 clear duty to set him the example of casting off your false 
 religion in the hope that he might follow you ? ' 
 
 ' You do not know James/ replied Mary Russell. ' He 
 is devoted to his profession and to his Church. I have 
 never dared to tell him how much my views concerning 
 the Roman Church have been modified of late. He thinks 
 me a staunch Protestant, even more convinced than he of 
 the errors of Roman Catholicism. He would never get 
 over it were I to become a Catholic' 
 
 Lady Merton smiled indulgently. 
 
 ' Oh yes, my dear, he would,' she replied. ' We are all 
 given to magnifying the obstacles in our path. It would 
 be a shock to him at first, of course ; but when once your 
 conversion (I am only supposing such a thing, remember) 
 was an accomplished fact, he would become reconciled to 
 it. It is always wiser not to talk about these things till 
 they are done. Discussion before the final step is taken 
 is only unsettling to the convert and painful to his or her 
 Protestant belongings. However, we will talk about this 
 some other time. It is getting late, and I dare say you 
 are tired after your hot journey to-day. There is only one 
 thing I should like to say, dear Mrs. Russell, and that is, 
 pray go to the chapel whenever you like. It is never 
 closed, and I am sure you will find help and comfort there, 
 if you are in need of either. Nobody will notice or disturb 
 you.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger murmured a gentle and sympathetic 
 
CASTING OF NETS 209 
 
 * Good-night' as the ladies went upstairs. Mrs. Russell 
 had to pass the door of the chapel on her way to her 
 room. It was partly open, and she paused and looked 
 into it. The light of two or three candles burning in 
 front of the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes, and the red 
 lamp glowing before the Blessed Sacrament, scarcely illu- 
 mined the gloom of the building. Mary could dimly dis- 
 cern shadowy forms kneeling in silent prayer before the 
 altar. The peace and the stillness of it seemed to force 
 themselves on her attention and to hold her imagination. 
 There was peace and stillness in the old church at Abbots- 
 bury also, but here surely dwelt the shadow of some mys- 
 terious Presence — the invisible Dispenser of a sweet and 
 holy calm. 
 
 The sound of a door opening softly above caused her to 
 look upward, and Lady Merton and Mrs. St. Leger, with 
 veils thrown over their heads, came into a small gallery in 
 the sanctuary and kneeled silently. For a moment Mary 
 Russell felt impelled to enter the chapel, and then, with 
 a quick sigh, she turned and went thoughtfully to her own 
 room. 
 
 14 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 IT was late in October before Lord and Lady Redman 
 returned to Abbotsbury. Hilda had quite recovered 
 her health, and appeared at the same time to have regained 
 her natural good spirits. After six weeks spent in the 
 bracing air of the Yorkshire coast she and Walter had 
 gone to the north of Scotland, where the latter had rented 
 a shooting-lodge and some salmon-fishing. The house 
 was very small, and, indeed, they had chosen it for this 
 very reason. There had been sufficient sport to occupy 
 Walter and one or two of his friends, and the dearth of 
 spare bedrooms in the lodge prevented any possibility of 
 Hilda being obliged to receive members of her own family 
 who might otherwise have proposed a visit. 
 
 The complete change of scene, and the out-of-door life 
 which she had been able to lead in the Highlands during 
 the earlier part of the autunm, had done much towards 
 insuring Hilda's complete recovery ; but another agent had 
 been at work, which was at least as powerful as either of 
 the others, for it had reacted upon her mind, and hence 
 upon her nerves, which had suffered keenly during the 
 weeks which had immediately preceded her confinement. 
 
 Hilda felt that the barrier which had existed between 
 her husband and herself had collapsed and vanished. 
 The confession which fear and pain combined had wrung 
 
CASTING OF NETS 211 
 
 from her as to the pressure wliicli liad been brought to 
 bear upon her b)' her rehitives and by her spiritual direetors 
 had resulted in breaking the ice of that reserve which both 
 she and Walter had deemed it their duty to each other to 
 maintain on all matters connected with their respective 
 religious beliefs. As if by mutual consent, they had tacitly 
 released one another from the promise made at their en- 
 gagement. The effect on Hilda had been very marked. 
 The knowledge that there was no longer a subject which 
 could not be mentioned between her and Walter seemed 
 to complete her happiness. She determined that he should 
 see for himself that she had no intention of attempting to 
 convert him to Catholicism. During the long hours of 
 recovery from her illness she had thought deeply and 
 earnestly, and Walter, as Mr. Shirley had advised him to 
 do, had let her think. 
 
 The result had been a firm resolution on Hilda's part 
 not to allow her relatives to interfere between her hus- 
 band and herself. If he were to be brought into the 
 Church, she told herself that it should be through the 
 action of love, but not through the intrigues of man. It 
 was not, she had now convinced herself, the anxiety to 
 save Walter's soul that troubled Lady Merton and the 
 priests, but the desire to secure a prominent convert to 
 the Church. But they had gone too far in their endeav- 
 ours to work upon her fears for the future, and Hilda 
 determined that she would leave the future to God. 
 Walter had told her of the attempt made to introduce a 
 religious into her sick-room, and of the difficulty which 
 he and Dr. Siddons had in preventing her relations from 
 forcing their presence upou her. The letters which she 
 
212 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 had received during her convalescence from Lady Merton 
 and from her mother had been full of bitter reproaches 
 for her unnatural conduct in consenting that they should 
 be kept at a distance from her, and Lady Merton es- 
 pecially implored her to take to heart the solemn warning 
 of His displeasure with which Almighty God had visited 
 her. Hilda showed the letters to her husband. That 
 she felt herself able to do so was a proof in itself of the 
 difference which had taken place in their mutual rela- 
 tions so far as the discussing of religious matters was 
 concerned. 
 
 Walter Redman had said very little after reading the 
 letters ; he had already had ample opportunity of forming 
 his own conclusions as to the tactics which had been 
 pursued in order to compass his conversion, and he 
 refrained from uttering a word to his wife which would 
 seem to hold her faith responsible for the dishonesty and 
 worldliness of those who professed to be acting in accord- 
 ance with its maxims. 
 
 He had been much struck, indeed, by the fact that, 
 notwithstanding all that Hilda had passed through at 
 the hands of her Church, and her evident pain and 
 disgust at the part which had been played by her family 
 and her clerical advisers, her belief in her religion re- 
 mained unshaken. She had said to him repeatedly that 
 the Church was not responsible for the sayings and 
 doings of those who were over-zealous in its cause, and 
 Walter thought he detected in his wife an almost nervous 
 eagerness that he should not imagine she blamed her 
 religion for all which had been done in its name. 
 
 It was very evident to both of them that after their 
 
CASTING OF NETS 213 
 
 return to Abbotsbury it would be impossible to prevent 
 Lady Gwendolen from visiting her daughter. Hilda 
 had felt the separation from her mother very aeutely, 
 but she knew well enough that the latter was entirely 
 under Lady Merton's influence, and would certainly 
 continue her propaganda should she be allowed to be 
 with her. Walter had implored her to be firm, and 
 to decline Lady Gwendolen's suggestion that the latter 
 should accompany her to Filey and remain with her 
 while he was shooting in Scotland. The knowledge 
 that she was no longer obliged to keep her thoughts 
 locked up in her own heart, but could now talk freely 
 with her husband, caused Hilda to feel almost indifferent 
 to the prospect of future remonstrances and pious lectures 
 on the part of her mother and Lady Merton. She felt 
 that it was beyond their power to terrify her any more 
 by their pictures of the future misery which was await- 
 ing her and those dear to her. Even Father Galsworthy, 
 she said to herself, would be unable to overawe her by 
 his threats and expostulations. The spell of superstition 
 had broken down under the calm and quiet reasoning 
 of the past few weeks ; a twofold strength had come to 
 her, for she knew that she was no longer to fight a 
 spiritual fight single-handed. 
 
 Both Hilda and her husband were delighted to find 
 themselves back at Abbotsbury once more, and the 
 autumn and winter months were to be devoted to the 
 entertaining of a succession of shooting-parties. Hilda 
 was naturally fond of society, and she looked forward 
 to seeing her friends at Abbotsbury after so many months 
 of enforced retirement. The people of the place welcomed 
 
214 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 them back with a genuine heartiness, for the news of 
 Hilda's illness had been received with sorrow and dismay 
 by all classes in the district round Abbotsbury. From 
 no one did Hilda receive a warmer greeting than from 
 Mr. Russell. The Rector had rapidly grown both to 
 like and esteem Lady Redman. At the time of her ill- 
 ness many instances of her thoughtful kindness to the 
 poor and the ailing, not only at Abbotsbury, but also at 
 Trentford and more distant places, came to his ears, and 
 he had reproached himself somewhat severely for his 
 narrow-mindedness in having been inclined to regard her 
 coming to Abbotsbury as a misfortune. 
 
 Mr. Russell had been a little surprised that his wife 
 did not respond so cordially to his praises of Lady Red- 
 man as he had expected her to do. He had noticed of 
 late that when he mentioned Hilda's name she had spoken 
 of her with an almost disapproving air, and he wondered 
 what the reason for it might be. 
 
 ' I consider that Hilda is strangely careless of her duty 
 towards Walter,' she had said to the Rector a day or two 
 before the Redmans' return home. ' Her utter indiifer- 
 ence to his atheism is shocking, especially in a Catholic. 
 I know that her mother and all her family are greatly 
 distressed at the callous way in which she accepts what 
 ought to be so great a sorrow to her.' 
 
 Lord and Lady Redman had not been at the Hall many 
 days before it became evident that the intimacy which had 
 existed during the previous winter between the latter and 
 ISIary Russell was not taken up exactly where it had been 
 left. Hilda herself was certainly not to blame for this. 
 She had gone over to the Rectory the day after her 
 
CASTING OF NETS 215 
 
 arrival at Abbotsbury, and it liad struck her that, though 
 the Rector's welcome was cordial enough, that of his wife 
 was somewhat cold. 
 
 Mr. Russell had innocently alluded to his wife having 
 stayed with Lady Merton in the course of the conversa- 
 tion, and had politely expressed his regret at not having 
 been able to accompany her. To Hilda's surprise, Mary 
 Russell had looked somewhat embarrassed at the mention 
 of the visit, and Iiad rather abruptly begun to talk on 
 some other topic. Hilda thouglit it strange that neither 
 Mrs. Russell nor Lady Merton should ever have alluded 
 to the fact of the former having been to Ware in their 
 letters to her, and that evening at dinner she mentioned 
 it to her husband. 
 
 Walter did not attach any particular importance to the 
 matter. He had never told his wife of the conversations 
 w^hich he and Mary Russell had together before her ill- 
 ness. Mary had begged him not to do so, and, believ- 
 ing that Hilda had confided in her, he had judged it to 
 be wiser not to let the former suppose that Mrs. Russell 
 talked to him of what she might have said. 
 
 As a matter of fact, Walter Redman had pondered 
 very deeply over some of his cousin's words. Until 
 Mary Russell had told him so, it had never struck him 
 that Hilda might resent his silence as to his religious 
 ideas and opinions as a want of confidence in his wife, 
 and the thought that she might be mortified and hurt 
 at his reticence on such matters had perhaps left more 
 impression on his mind than Mrs. Russell had calculated 
 would be the case. 
 
 * I think that Mary is a little offended \vith me/ said 
 
2i6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Hilda that evening at dinner. Walter and she were alone 
 together. The following day some guests were coniijig 
 to stay with them, and, among others, Lady Gwendolen 
 Cawarden was to be of the party. 
 
 ^ Why should she be so ? ' asked Walter. 
 
 *I have no idea. Unless it is because I have not 
 written to her very often since we have been away. 
 Mr. Russell was very friendly this morning, and he 
 looked quite pleased to see me, but I thought Mary's 
 manner was a little stiff.' 
 
 ^ Russell is a good chap,' said Lord Redman, ' as long as 
 he don't preach ; then he is apt to be exceedingly tiresome.' 
 
 Hilda laughed. 
 
 ' I don't believe you know anything about it, Walter,' 
 she said. ^ I expect you are generally asleep during the 
 sermons, on the rare occasions when you make up your 
 mind to go to church.' 
 
 Walter looked at her and laughed also. 
 
 ' I 'm afraid that is true,' he replied. ' Do you know, 
 Hilda,' he continued, ' I am going to be very virtuous 
 this winter. I expect church-going is a habit — very 
 much like cleaning one's teeth. I think I shall try and 
 get into it, and then, perhaps, it will not seem to be 
 such a waste of time.' 
 
 'You might try it, certainly,' said Hilda indifferently, 
 though there was laughter in her eyes. ' Your teeth have 
 not suffered from the habit of cleaning them, I imagine,' 
 she added. 
 
 ' I believe not,' replied Walter gravely. ' Perhaps,' he 
 continued hesitatingly, * you would take me with you to 
 Abbotsbridge sometimes ? ' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 217 
 
 The smile died out of Hilda's eyes, and an uneasy 
 expression came into them. 
 
 'I do not intend to go to church at Abbotsbridge any 
 more,' she answered. * I shall go into Trentford instead/ 
 
 ' Take me to Trentford, then.' 
 
 Hilda looked at him. 
 
 'No, Walter, I will not,' she said decidedly. 'You 
 have your own church here, and it is much better for 
 all the people about that you should attend it. If you 
 came with me, everybody would say that I was trying to 
 convert you.* 
 
 ' And would they not be right ? ' 
 
 'No, they would not ! you know that they would not, 
 Walter. Shall I tell you something ? ' she added. ' I 
 used to think how thankful and happy I should be if I 
 could be the means of influencing you, and of making 
 you become a Catholic' 
 
 She paused for a moment and looked at her husband 
 earnestly. 
 
 ' And now ? ' he asked gently 
 
 ' Now,' replied Hilda, ' I have learned to hate the w^ord 
 " influence." I do not think that you will ever become a 
 Catholic ; but if you do, it shall be through no influence 
 of mine.' 
 
 Walter looked at her in surprise. 
 
 ' Who else should influence me ? ' 
 
 'God.' 
 
 ' Everything is put upon God's shoulders,' answered 
 Walter. 
 
 ' Yes, T know,' returned Hilda hurriedly ; ' that is what 
 is so canting ; but I mean God's influence really, not the 
 
2i8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 human influence working for human motives which is 
 hypocritically attributed to Him in order to conceal its 
 true nature. That is why I have learned to hate the 
 word as applied to conversions. It means the discover- 
 ing of a weak place in the character of the convert, and 
 playing upon that weakness in the name of God for mo- 
 tives with which God has nothing to do.' 
 
 * And you would not play upon my weak point ? ' said 
 Walter Redman, smiling. 
 
 ' Your weak point ! ' repeated Hilda. ' I do not 
 know ' 
 
 ' Dear,' he interrupted softly, ' I think that you know 
 very well.' 
 
 Hilda was silent for a moment. 
 
 ' And if I do,' she said presently, ^ I am all the more 
 determined never to attempt to influence your religious 
 opinions. If God wants you to be a Catholic, Walter, 
 you will be one without any human interference.' 
 
 ' What would Lady Merton say to such a sentiment ? ' 
 
 'Oh,' replied Hilda, 'you know what she would say; 
 but you must remember that she considers herself to have 
 an especial calling to make converts. You must not think 
 that we are all like my grandmother.' 
 
 ' I assure you that I do not ! ' answered Walter, smil- 
 ing a little at his wife's eaojerness. ' I think the mania 
 for convert-making is almost a peculiarity of you English 
 Catholics, and no doubt it is very natural that it should 
 be so. I have known plenty of foreign Catholics, but I 
 have not found this mania among them. In England 
 I have noticed that it exists chiefly among the elderly 
 women and the priests, and the young men who have 
 
CASTING OF NETS 219 
 
 been converted themselves. I have always regarded it 
 as another example of the egoism of religion.' 
 
 ' And why so ? ' asked Hilda. 
 
 Lord Redman shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 ' You know the fable of the fox who lost his brush/ he 
 replied. ^ When a person is converted to another religion, 
 he has to try his best not to be thought a fool by his former 
 co-religionists, and the latter are annoyed with him be- 
 cause it is evident that he considers them to be fools.* 
 
 Hilda laughed. Since she and her husband had dis- 
 cussed such topics together she had become accustomed 
 to his satirical remarks. It was not to be w^ondered at, 
 she thought, if strangers and casual acquaintances regarded 
 him as a sceptic in matters of religious faith. 
 
 'At any rate you can't think me a fool, Walter,' she 
 observed quietly. 
 
 AValter Redman glanced at her appreciatively. It was 
 satisfactory to live with a woman who had a sense of 
 
 humour. 
 
 'You are not a convert,' he replied, lighting a cigarette. 
 ' Then you will not take me to church with you at Trent- 
 ford?' he added. 
 
 'No,' replied Hilda, smiling, 'I will not. Do you 
 think it very odd of me? I should be very thankful if 
 you and I w^ere both of the same faith ; but I do not 
 want you to become a Catholic from any other motive than 
 a genuine convection of the truth of Catholicism. Do you 
 know what the one question is which I have invariably 
 heard asked about a convert? "Who has converted 
 him ? " I have always noticed that the answer is never 
 that which it surely ought to be. It is never "God."' 
 
220 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 There was no levity in Walter Redman's glance, or in 
 the tone of his voice as he answered her. 
 
 ' What has made you think of these things ? ' he said. 
 
 *I have had plenty of time for thinking lately,' 
 replied Hilda; ^and if you were ever to become a 
 Catholic, I should like the reply to the question which 
 would inevitably be asked as to who converted you to 
 be "God." I would not have it be "His wife," or 
 "Father Somebody.'" 
 
 *But, Hilda, God is supposed to work through 
 intermediaries ! ' 
 
 Hilda Redman made a little gesture of impatience. 
 
 ^ Yes,' she answered, and there was a ring of contempt 
 in her voice which Walter had never heard before. ' It 
 is a very convenient means of trading upon the supersti- 
 tions of those who believe in Him. I might persuade 
 myself, as others have left no methods untried to persuade 
 me, that God willed me to convert you to Catholicism, 
 and it is barely conceivable that I might succeed in doing 
 so. But it would all be a lie, my action, your conversion 
 — all. I wonder how much of our longing that those 
 about us should be of the same religion as ourselves is 
 due to the fact that our vanity is offended because they 
 differ from us?' 
 
 ^That is probably at the basis of most dogmatic 
 religion,' said Walter. ^Does it make so much differ- 
 ence to you that I am not a Catholic?' he continued, 
 looking at his wife steadily. 
 
 'It does not offend my vanity, if you mean that,' 
 replied Hilda, with a slight smile. 'I wish you were 
 one, because I hate to feel that there is anything which 
 
CASTING OF NETS 221 
 
 divides us from each other, and if it is all true — if it is 
 
 all true ' she repeated, and then she hesitated and 
 
 stopped. 
 
 Walter Redman sat and watched her in silence. He 
 would not tell her that to him it was all theory, this 
 mighty fabric which theology had built upon the primitive 
 superstitions of mankind ; this fetish which the priests 
 and the churches had set up in the place of that true 
 God who, dwelling in the midst of His creatures, needed 
 no priest or temple from whence to speak to those who 
 knew where to search for Him, and how to read His 
 gospel in the writings traced by His own hand in the 
 woodlands and the waters, and in all the moving pageantry 
 ofUfe. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 THE autumn passed pleasantly enougli at Abbots- 
 bury. A succession of visitors filled the house 
 throughout November and December, and the Christmas 
 festivities of the preceding year had been repeated ac- 
 cording to the old traditions of the place. The gathering 
 at the Hall, however, during Christmastide had not been 
 so much of a family function as that of the year before. 
 The Cawardens were keeping Christmas at their own 
 place in Lancashire, and Lady Merton was in Rome. 
 There were various members of the Redman family, and 
 the remainder of the party consisted of old friends, of 
 whom Mr. Shirley was one. 
 
 Hilda had been strongly advised by her doctor to go 
 abroad immediately after Christmas. Though she had 
 recovered satisfactorily, the climate of the Trent Valley 
 in winter and early spring, with its damp, cold fogs, or 
 keen easterly winds, was not all that could be desired 
 for one who had recently been through a severe illness. 
 The difficulty had been to decide where she and Walter 
 should go. Hilda declared that she would not go to the 
 Riviera. She had been several times to Cannes and 
 Mentone when she was a girl, and had cordially disliked 
 them, and Walter shared her dislike both of the places 
 and of the life led in them. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 223 
 
 The most interesting place that year within a reason- 
 able distance of England seemed to be Rome. Lady 
 JMerton had written to her daughter glowing descriptions 
 of the impressive scenes to be witnessed in the Eternal 
 City in consequence of the solemnities of the Anno Santo, 
 and Lady Gwendolen had duly passed them on to Hilda ; 
 for since Lady Redman's illness her grandmother had 
 corresponded with the latter far less frequently, and her 
 letters were marked by a tone of decided disapproval 
 and almost of coldness. 
 
 Hilda had never been to Rome, and the idea of visiting 
 it for the first time during a Jubilee year appealed to her. 
 Though she scarcely confessed as much to herself, she 
 cherished some latent hope that a spring spent at Rome 
 at a moment when the Church was celebrating some of 
 its most imposing functions might serve as an object- 
 lesson to Walter, and might help to awaken in him a 
 sense of the universal power and influence of Catholicism. 
 
 The suggestion that they should spend two or three 
 months at Rome had originated with Lady Gwendolen, 
 and when Lord Redman saw that his wife was evidently 
 pleased with the idea, he had at once agreed to it. In- 
 deed, Walter Redman was thankful that the Riviera was 
 not to be his fate for the spring. He knew Rome fairly 
 well, and was fond of it — as who is not who really knows 
 Rome ? 
 
 The matter was not finally settled until shortly before 
 Christmas, and when Mr. Shirley heard where Lord and 
 Lady Redman were thinking of going for the spring, he 
 manifested some surprise. He had heard from Walter 
 of the circumstances which had attended Hilda's illness, 
 
224 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 and whence the direct cause of her premature confine- 
 ment had proceeded. 
 
 ' I think Rome is as good a place as any other to spend 
 a few weeks in, and my wife has never been there/ Walter 
 said, when discussing his plans with Mr. Shirley, as they 
 were walking together one foggy afternoon at Abbots- 
 bm-y, in a wooded part of the grounds known as the 
 Groves. 
 
 Mr. Shirley paused and poked a piece of paper into 
 the damp soil with the point of his walking-stick. 
 
 ' I cannot bear seeing bits of paper lying about ; it is 
 one of my eccentricities,' he said, smiling. 
 
 ' It is probably a love-letter of one of the under-garden- 
 ers,' remarked Walter. ' But what do you think of our 
 Roman scheme ? ' he added after his companion had com- 
 pleted the operation to his satisfaction, and had carefully 
 smoothed the surface of the soil which covered the offend- 
 ing object. 
 
 'I think,' replied Mr. Shirley, 'that you are a very 
 bold man. You are taking your wife to a place where 
 she will immediately be surrounded by people of the Lady 
 Merton type. It is a species which flourishes exceedingly 
 at Rome — in the English society, I mean — and in that 
 Black world to which piety, real or assumed, is an en- 
 trance ticket. I am afraid that they will surround Lady 
 Redman like flies.' 
 
 Walter Redman laughed. 
 
 'I have seen the sort of thing,' he said. 'It is very 
 amusing: to watch for a short time. I don't think, Ned, 
 that it will be bad for Hilda to see it also. She can take 
 care of herself now, I fancy.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 225 
 
 Mr. Shirley luukcd at him with .sonic curiosity. 
 
 * Do you inciui to go to lloiue as au experiment ? ' he 
 asked dryly. 
 
 'No,' said Walter simply. 'I have never thought of 
 it in that light. There is nothing to experimentalize 
 about, I am glad to say. Hilda and I understand one 
 another perfectly, and there is now no fear of mischief 
 being made between us by our pious friends.' 
 
 ' Well/ said ]Mr. Shirley, ^ whether you intend it to 
 be so, or not, I still regard your taking Lady Redman 
 to Rome in the light of an experiment. One thing is 
 certain : nobody — no thinking person, that is — can go to 
 Rome for the first time and leave it in the same state of 
 mind as that in which they came to it. I am speaking, 
 of course, of its effect upon religious thought.' 
 
 ^You must remember that it is her Mecca,' replied 
 Walter Redman. ^It is natural that she should wish 
 to go there this year, which, as I understand, is par- 
 ticularly holy.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley's lips curled slightly. He knew the true 
 history and origin of Papal Jubilees. 
 
 * Of course,' he said quietly ; ' but I was not thinking 
 so much of Lady Redman as of yourself, Walter.' 
 
 ^ And why of me ? Rome is not my Mecca, and I 
 am not going to it for the first time ! ' 
 
 'In a sense you are going to it for the first time,' 
 said Mr. Sliirley ; * for, on your former visits there, you 
 were merely a spectator, looking on at a remarkable 
 psychological phenomenon in which you had no personal 
 concern beyond that prompted by curiosity.' 
 
 ' Do you call the Church of Rome a psychological 
 
 15 
 
226 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 phenomenon?' asked Walter, laughing. 'That is a 
 very characteristic remark of yours, Ned I' 
 
 ' Certainly I do,' answered Mr. Shirley. ' It is that 
 which causes its study to be one of almost inexhaustible 
 interest ; and nowhere can it be studied to more advan- 
 tage than at its centre.' 
 
 *But I have little more personal concern in it now 
 than I had formerly,' said Walter. 
 
 ' Have you not ? If that child had been born alive, 
 you would already have begun to think differently. 
 This is why I cannot help wondering what the result of 
 your visit to Rome will be. Lady Redman is hardly 
 likely to be disillusionized by what she will see there — 
 and you have no illusions.' 
 
 ' And therefore we shall both return in the same frame 
 of mind as we went.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley shook his head. 
 
 * I do not think that you will,' he replied, ' whatever 
 may be the case with your wife. I am afraid,' he con- 
 tinued, ' that Lady Redman will naturally fall into the Eng- 
 lish Catholic set in Rome. It will be very difficult for her 
 not to do so. Have you considered this contingency ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' answered Lord Redman; 'we have both con- 
 sidered it — Hilda not less so than myself. I am more 
 bored than alarmed at the prospect.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley chuckled. 
 
 ' That I can well understand,* he said ; ' I have studied 
 that society myself. At first it is interesting, if only on 
 account of the novelty of finding one's self among a set of 
 one's fellow-creatures who have lost both the power of 
 reasoning and the sense of humour. They are forbidden 
 
CASTING OF NETS 227 
 
 to exercise the former, even if tliey possess it. The dan- 
 ger to Lady Redman will be that the old ladies, and the 
 priests who go to tea with them, will attempt to renew 
 their endeavours to oblige your wife to convert you, which 
 have already nearly led to such disastrous consequences.' 
 
 ' I am happy to say,' replied Walter, * that my wife 
 has shown signs of being determined to exercise her 
 reason ; and she has no lack of the sense of humour. 
 I feel no uneasiness as to her again allowing her re- 
 ligious feelings to be worked upon. She seems to me 
 to have drawn a very distinct line in her own mind 
 between religion and religious people. I think that she 
 will defend herself against any further attempts of these 
 last to interfere with her. But you say that you are 
 more inclined to think of some mysterious danger to me 
 as resulting from our expedition to Rome. I really can't 
 see where I come in, Ned.' 
 
 Mr. Shirley smiled. 
 
 ' Perhaps you won't come in,' he replied. ^ It will very 
 much depend upon the effect which Rome produces upon 
 you, under the present circumstance of your life, whether 
 you do or don't. In one thing, however, I may advise you 
 for your future happiness and peace of mind : Do your 
 best to show your wife the other side of the picture at 
 Rome. Do not let her imaorine that what she is allowed 
 to see, and hear, and know, by Lady Merton and her en- 
 tourage, is the real Rome. The priests play with these 
 pious old ladies and weak-minded men as cats play with 
 mice. Most of them are honest, and believe all they are 
 told. A certain number are not so, and are advertising 
 their piety merely as a means of getting into society. Thg 
 
228 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 latter peculiarity, I have always thought, is oue of the 
 most amusing features of Roman life. There are men and 
 women who get up very early every morning and go to 
 Mass, in order that they may sit up very late in the evening 
 and be seen in the exclusive Black houses. You do not 
 understand ? Ah, well, you will do so if you watch a few 
 social careers in Rome — among our English compatriots, 
 I mean ; no other nationality exploits the next world in 
 order to obtain social successes in this. No ! I advise 
 you both to watch the show as you would watcli any 
 other comedy — for a good deal of amusement and a little 
 instruction. After all, from the Pope on the Sedia Gesta- 
 toria blessing the crowd in St. Peter's to the monsignori 
 at Lady Merton's parties, from the miraculous Madonnas 
 in the churches to the Venuses in the museums, from the 
 Christs and St. Sebastians to the Apollos and the Adonises, 
 all Rome is a puppet-show, and the only things which have 
 been altered by Roman Christianity are the names of the 
 puppets.' 
 
 Lord Redman looked at his companion with an amused 
 expression. He enjoyed drawing Mr. Shirley out upon his 
 favourite theories. 
 
 * Then Roman Catholicism ' 
 
 ^ Is an adapted form of Grseco-Roman paganism, with a 
 dash of Egyptian cult thrown in.' 
 
 ' And the result is ? ' 
 
 ' Lady Merton ! ' said Mr. Shirley dryly. 
 
 Walter Redman burst into a shout of laughter. 
 
 ' You would be a most useful guide in Rome, Ned,' he 
 exclaimed. ' I think you had better come with us, only 
 your sentiments would horrify my wife.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 229 
 
 Mr. Shirley smiled again. 
 
 *I keep my pagan sentiments for your old oak-trees,' he 
 said, looking round the groves. 'They understand.' 
 
 Walter looked at him quiekly. 
 
 ' I never know how far to take you seriously,' he said. 
 * Is there uo such thing as truth for you anywhere in the 
 world?' 
 
 * Wherever the Breath of Life is, there is Truth ! ' replied 
 My. Shirley, and the sarcasm of his manner vanished as he 
 spoke ; ' but the special location of Truth is the greatest 
 of all lies. That is the lie common to Christianity, and 
 which, in the Roman Church, reaches the depths of igno- 
 rant blasphemy. But, even so, Truth exists in Christianity, 
 as it exists wherever created matter follows the Supreme 
 Will and shapes its course to the Divine Ends. There is 
 onlv one thins: in this world which has been able to con- 
 found Truth, and that is Fear. It is Fear which makes 
 men seek to locate Truth — human fear and distrust of 
 God, and it is upon these that the churches and the 
 priests thrive and multiply. Do you know many people 
 in Rome ? ' added Mr. Shirley somewhat abruptly. 
 
 * Hardly anyone,' replied Walter, * except a few Romans 
 whom I have met over here. I know the Brancaleones, 
 of course, and one or two others who come to England, 
 but I don't think that Hilda knows anybody there.' 
 
 ' Oh, the Brancaleones ! ' said Mr. Shirley. ' They have 
 a pleasant house. You will not meet the convert element 
 in Princess Brancaleone's drawing-rooms. I should like 
 to give you a letter of introduction to a very old friend of 
 mine in Rome. He is a man in whom you and Lady Red- 
 man would be interested.' 
 
230 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * Do, by all means/ replied Walter. ' What is his line 
 — literary, scientific? His ideas won't shock Hilda, I 
 hope ! ' 
 
 * He is a priest/ replied Mr. Shirley. 
 ^ A priest ! and a friend of yours ? ' 
 
 'And why not? I have several friends among the 
 Roman Catholic clergy, both in Italy and in France. Does 
 the fact surprise you so much ? ' 
 
 ^ Well, yes, my dear fellow, it does.' 
 
 * I cannot see why it should. I don't agree with them, 
 but I respect and admire them. They are rare of their 
 kind, that I grant you; but, being so, they are all the 
 more valuable. This particular priest, whose acquaintance 
 I should like you to make, is a certain Monsignor Martini. 
 He is a Roman, but he has travelled much, and is an ex- 
 tremely enlightened and cultivated man. You are very 
 likely to meet him if you go to the Brancaleones' ; he is a 
 great favourite of theirs. But if you care to take a letter 
 to him from me, I think he would be useful to you. He 
 will make you and Lady Redman acquainted with some 
 of the most interesting people, lay and ecclesiastical, of the 
 city — people you would rarely meet in ordinary society, 
 and never in the houses frequented by Lady IMerton's 
 clique' 
 
 '■ I should like very much to have a letter to him,' said 
 Walter; ^but I hope he talks something else besides 
 Italian, for Hilda does not know the language.' 
 
 ^ Martini is supposed to know fourteen languages,' an- 
 swered ]Mr. Shirley, ^ and to talk them all well. If he talks 
 the remaining thirteen as well as he talks English, I envy 
 him his talent as a linguist. He has been a great deal in 
 
CASTING OF NETS 231 
 
 Englaiul, aiul you will find liiiii perfectly well inforiiied on 
 all our peculiarities, religious and otherwise.' 
 
 *Is he at the Vaticau? ' inquired Walter. 
 
 *Not now. He used to be. I forget in what capacity. 
 At present he is not at all well looked u})on by the author- 
 ities, on account of his liberal and conciliatory utterances 
 and writings. lie is a Rosniinian, and is not, therefore, 
 tolerated by the reactionary and ultramontane wire-pullers 
 who stand behind the Pope. He is obliged to keep very 
 quiet, lest he should have an attack of pneumonia.' 
 
 ' Pneumonia ! ' 
 
 * Pobnonite, it is called in Rome. It is very fatal in 
 that climate, especially to would-be religious reformers,' 
 said Mr. Shirley dryly. ^ Martini, I conclude, does not 
 want to share the fate of his hero, Rosmini. He keeps 
 himself very carefully in the background so long as the 
 Jesuits rule through Leo XIII. But to those with whom 
 he feels it is safe to do so, he will talk freely, and I have 
 spent many delightful hours in his company, and in that 
 of some of his friends to w^hom he has introduced me.' 
 
 ' I hope you will come to Rome yourself, Ned, while 
 we are there,' said Walter Redman. 
 
 * Perhaps I may get there,' replied Mr. Shirley. * Are 
 you going to a hotel ? ' 
 
 ' No ; Hilda thinks it would be tiresome. We mean 
 to stay three months between Rome and Naples, so 
 we are going to take an apartment and bring some of 
 our own servants out with us. I have no doubt we 
 could give you a room if you came,' he added. 
 
 Mr. Shirley laughed. 
 
 ' What would Lady Redman's family say if she extended 
 
232 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 her hospitality in Rome to such a heretic as myself ? ' he 
 replied. * No, Walter ; many thanks, all the same, but 
 you would more than ever be supposed to be trying to 
 pervert your wife from Catholicism by exposing her to 
 my pernicious influence. I shall be extremely curious 
 to see the result of your experiment. I insist upon call- 
 ing it an experiment, though you decline to see it in that 
 light.' 
 
 They turned into a broad gravel walk which led down 
 a gentle slope, at the foot of which stood the gray, battle- 
 mented old hall. The faint, red rays of the winter sunset 
 glanced on the mullioned windows. The foggy air had 
 cleared as evening approached, and a procession of rooks 
 was streaming across a primrose-coloured sky, on their 
 way to their homes in the ancient rookeries of Redman's 
 Cross. The harsh crow of cock pheasants challenging 
 each other before going to roost, and blackbirds chatter- 
 ing excitedly in the clumps of rhododendrons, alone broke 
 the silence after Mr. Shirley's last remark. The latter 
 glanced at Lord Redman, and then his gaze wandered 
 to the picturesque old pile of buildings below them. 
 They passed through the great gateway into the court- 
 yard, and thence into the entrance-hall, with its trophies 
 of armour and windows of painted glass. 
 
 ^ I wonder very much,' he said to himself, as a footman 
 took his hat and walking-stick from him and helped him 
 off with his overcoat, ^ what the result of the experiment 
 will be ! ' 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 LADY MERTON hud received the intelligence that 
 Hilda and her liusband were coming to Rome for 
 the remainder of the winter and spring with great satis- 
 faction. She had been not a little mortified at the failure 
 of her attempts to arouse in her grand-daughter a proper 
 sense of her duties towards the Church, but she consoled 
 herself with the reflection that at Rome she would 
 have greater focilities for bringing both Hilda and Lord 
 Redman under the influence of the outward pomp and 
 circumstance of Catholicism by which she herself was 
 so much fascinated and impressed. She would be able, 
 moreover, to surround them with an atmosphere of what 
 she and her friend Mrs. St. Leger described as ' Catholic 
 piety/ and with this object in view she had already 
 told all her more intimate acquaintances in the Black 
 world that Lord and Lady Redman were about to arrive, 
 and had given them to understand that great advantages 
 to the cause of Catholicism in England were likely to be 
 the result of the \isit of so rich and influential a peer 
 as Lord Redman to the Eternal City during the Holy 
 Year of Jubilee. 
 
 Notwithstanding her recent experiences, she did not 
 hesitate to represent Lord Redman to her friends in 
 Rome as she had represented him to those in England 
 
234 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 who had been disi:)osed to object to Miss Cawarden's 
 engagement to him on the score of his Protestantism. 
 It was not difficult to arouse the curiosity and interest of 
 her Roman friends regarding the Redmans, and in this 
 Lady Merton was ably seconded by Mrs. St. Leger. 
 The latter was barely acquainted with Hilda, whom 
 she had only seen before her marriage, and Lord Red- 
 man she had never seen at all. Her ideas concerning 
 him were entirely derived from all that she had heard 
 from Lady Merton and from his cousin, Mary Russell. 
 The conversation in the Via Gregoriana, w^here I^ady 
 Merton and Mrs. St. Leger were installed in the apart- 
 ment which the former usually rented when she came 
 to Rome, had frequently turned upon the Redmans, 
 and Lady Merton would draw vi\4d word-pictures to 
 sympathizing ladies and ecclesiastics of the anguish of 
 mind which her grand-daughter was undergoing on ac- 
 count of her husband's reluctance to take the final step 
 and join the Church. 
 
 'There can be no doubt,' she said, 'that this deter- 
 mination to come to Rome is a direct answer to our 
 prayers that Lord Redman may be brought nearer to the 
 Church. His wife is terribly anxious that all he sees 
 and hears while here should make a good impression 
 upon him. Her letters to me are really quite touching, 
 poor thing!' 
 
 Lady Merton had been giving one of her periodical 
 luncheon parties, and her guests were sitting in the 
 drawing-room afterwards discussing their coffee and their 
 acquaintances. 
 
 'It is so fortunate that they will see Rome under 
 
CASTING OF NETS 23s 
 
 your auspices, my dear Lady Merton/ said Madame de 
 Hoheuthal. 'As your dear Queeu used to say to me, 
 it makes such a difference how and with whom one sees 
 Rome.' 
 
 * I did not know that the Queen luid ever been here/ 
 said a young Englishman who was one of tlie party. He 
 had but recently come to Rome, and was not aware of 
 Madame de Ilohenthal's peculiarities. 
 
 'Ah, well, monsieur, perhaps it was not your Queen. 
 No, now I think of it, it was the Princess of Wales. One 
 gets confused, you know. During my official life in your 
 country I was so intimate with your royalties.' 
 
 ' Oh; said Lady Merton, ' as to that, of course I shall 
 do my best to insure that they shall see Rome properly ; 
 not the Rome of these miserable Italians, but our Rome, 
 you know. They could not come at a better moment. 
 Nobody could fail to be impressed by the scenes of en- 
 thusiasm and devotion which we daily see around us in 
 this wonderful year.' 
 
 'I quite agree wdth you, Lady Merton,' observed an 
 English monsignore, taking a liberal pinch of snuff as he 
 spoke. ' This year Rome belongs to the pilgrims, not to 
 the tourists. It is a wonderful sight, a marvellous proof 
 of the power of the Church to draw her children from all 
 quarters of the globe. I hear that the Protestants are 
 very much impressed, and no doubt Lord Redman will 
 be so. He is a clever man, you say ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' answered Lady Merton, 'he is clever, but oh, 
 so helpless ! blown about by every wind of doctrine, poor 
 fellow ! Like all Protestants, he lacks the stability which 
 only reliance on the authority of the true Church can give.* 
 
236 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' If he is a clever man/ said Monsignor Chester, blow- 
 ing his nose loudly with a coloured silk pocket-handker- 
 chief, * he cannot fail to be struck with the proofs of the 
 Church's authority which he will see all around him in 
 Rome. Of course you will take steps to procure him and 
 Lady Redman an audience of the Holy Father ? ' 
 
 ' Most certainly ! ' replied Lady Merton. ^ I have al- 
 ready told the Maestro di Camera all about them both, 
 and he has promised me to arrange that matter. I am 
 most anxious that it should be fully understood at the 
 Vatican how much the conversion of a man like Lord 
 Redman would mean for our cause in England.' 
 
 ' Yes,' said Monsignor Chester bluntly ; ' English people 
 like lords.* 
 
 ' The influence of a prominent man like Lord Red- 
 man on the masses is naturally considerable,' said Mrs. 
 St. Leger; Miis conversion would be followed by many 
 others.' 
 
 ' And his own soul,' said Madame de Hohenthal. 
 ^ Think of the joy it will be to dear Lady Merton to 
 know that she has been the means of bringing salvation 
 to this gentleman, Lord — Redman — is it not ? ' 
 
 ' Oh, yes, his soul — yes, of course,' replied Lady 
 Merton, a little absently. 
 
 'Ah, madame,' said Mrs. St. Leger to Madame de 
 Hohenthal, ' Lady Merton's object is so wide, so far- 
 reaching. She is thinking of the good of our holy 
 religion in a schismatic country. The salvation of an 
 individual soul is important enough, of course. But 
 when, as in the case of Lord Redman, a conversion im- 
 plies the setting of an example which is sure to give 
 
CASTING OF NETS 237 
 
 confidence to other doubting souls, and so enable them 
 to imitate it, it becomes doubly important. The influence 
 of the nobility is so great in England.' 
 
 Lady Merton coughed. Her converts were a little 
 trying to her occasionally ; for, though she was largely 
 surrounded by people of Mrs. St. Leger's class, whose 
 piety was more apparent than their good breeding, she 
 was what she looked, a well-born woman of the world. 
 When her friend Mrs. St. Leger talked of the ' aristocracy ' 
 or, as she frequently did, with bated breath, of the ^ Ro- 
 man nobility,' Lady Merton felt uncomfortable and would 
 try to turn the conversation. 
 
 ^ They will be here by the end of the week,' she said. 
 * My grand-daughter writes to me that she feels so thank- 
 ful to think her prayers have, so far, been answered, and 
 that she has been able to prevail upon her husband to 
 come to Rome during this Holy Year. Of course he 
 has been here before, but simply e7i tourist, and before 
 the days when he had any leanings towards the Church.' 
 
 ' I have heard Lord Redman spoken of as being an 
 absolute sceptic/ observed Mousignor Chester. ' I am 
 surprised to hear you say that he has any leanings 
 towards Catholicism.' 
 
 Lady Merton glanced at Mrs. St. Leger, and then 
 smiled indulgently. 
 
 ' People always exaggerate things,' she replied ; ' so 
 many very young men profess religious scepticism. They 
 imagine that by doing so they will be considered inter- 
 esting. I believe that at one time Walter Redman was 
 really what is called a free-thinker, and that it was not 
 a youthful j^ose on his part. He was a decidedly clever 
 
238 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 young man, and no doubt fell into bad hands at one of 
 those horrid Protestant universities — Cambridge, I think 
 it was — where nothing is allowed to be true unless it 
 agrees with the latest scientific fad. By degrees, how- 
 ever, his common-sense has asserted itself, and he has 
 emancipated himself to a great extent from his earlier 
 ideas. Of course, there still remain old prejudices to 
 be overcome, and, I regret to say, he still keeps up his 
 intercourse with some of his University friends, whose 
 influence is probably holding him back. His marriage 
 with my grand-daughter has, naturally, brought him into 
 closer contact with Catholicism, and we are convinced 
 that he is gradually becoming more and more attracted 
 towards the Church.' 
 
 ^ Mixed marriages are a great mistake,' remarked Mon- 
 signor Chester, fumbling in his pocket for his snuff'-box. 
 
 Lady Merton looked annoyed for an instant. Mon- 
 signor Chester possessed the knack — a very uncommon 
 one with Roman ecclesiastics — of invariably saying the 
 wrong thing at the wrong moment. He was a convert 
 himself, and had been an Anglican clergyman of pro- 
 nounced High Church views. The garb of the Roman 
 priest, however, had never been able to conceal the 
 parsonic manner, while, owing, no doubt, to his English 
 and Protestant training and education, he had never 
 been able to acquire the suave and polished address 
 usual among the higher grades of the clergy of his 
 newly-adopted creed. 
 
 ^My grand-daughter's marriage was one of affection,* 
 said Lady Merton. ' We were all very much opposed 
 to it, and it was the first time that one of the Cawarden 
 
CASTING OF NETS 239 
 
 family had ever married a Protestant. Lord Redman's 
 evident interest in the Clmreh, liowever, caused my 
 daughter to feel that she might be interfering with the 
 ways of Almighty God were slie to persist in her refusal 
 to allow it. I must say that, personally, I always con- 
 sidered the engagement to be an unfortunate one ; but 
 my advice was not listened to.' 
 
 Madame do Ilohenthal leaned forward in her chair 
 with some eagerness. 
 
 'Ah!' she exclaimed, ' th<7 are not happy together? 
 He does not treat her well, no doubt. I suppose that 
 she is persecuted on account of her religion ! ' 
 
 Lady Merton hesitated for a moment before replying. 
 Madame de Hohenthal's tongue had caused mischief in 
 more than one European capital where her late husband 
 had represented his Government diplomatically ; and she 
 had not laid aside with her Protestantism her capacity 
 for damaging the reputations of her acquaintances. In- 
 deed, the air of Rome being unusually favourable to the 
 development of such a capacity, many little stories were 
 conceived and born in Madame de Hohenthal's sitting- 
 room at the little hotel wiiich she patronized during her 
 winter residenje in the Eternal City. 
 
 'It would be too strong a thing to assert that they 
 are not happy together,' said Lady Merton after a pause. 
 ' As I say, the man-iage was one of affection,' she added, 
 markinjr the tense of the latter verb with the faintest 
 possible inflexion. ' Monsignor Chester is quite right,' 
 she continued, with a little sigh, 'when he says that 
 mixed marriages are a mistake. My grand-daughter 
 cannot, of course, be as happy as we should wish to see 
 
240 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 her, when she knows that her husband is surrounded by 
 friends and relations who are striving to counteract her 
 influence over him.' 
 
 ' Poor Lady Redman ! ' murmured Madame de Hohen- 
 thal, whose face had assumed an expression of keen 
 interest while Lady Merton was speaking. ^I can sym- 
 pathize with her so well. Ah! they are such bigoted 
 people, those Protestants! I remember what it was 
 when I became a Catholic. How happy I am to think 
 that they are coming to Rome! Here we shall have 
 them in our charge, dear Lady Merton. We will take 
 care that Lord Redman falls into good hands, will we 
 not, Mrs. St. Leger?' 
 
 'Yes, indeed!' said the latter. 'We may hope that 
 the society in which Lord and Lady Redman will find 
 themselves will have its good influence on the former. 
 
 To be in the midst of good Catholic society ' 
 
 'They know very few people here, I conclude?' 
 interrupted Monsignor Chester — ' among the Romans, 
 I mean.' 
 
 'Very few, I think,' replied Lady Merton. 'I met 
 that odious woman Princess Brancaleone the other day 
 at a tea, and she told me that Lord Redman was a friend 
 of hers, and that she was delighted to hear he was 
 coming, and hoped to make the acquaintance of his wife. 
 It is so disagreeable meeting those Quirinal people,' she 
 added, 'but I could not avoid her. She came up and 
 spoke to me.' 
 
 Madame de Hohenthal held up her hands in horror. 
 'Princess Brancaleone!' she exclaimed. 'Oh, my 
 dear Lady Merton, you nuist not let them go to the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 241 
 
 Talazzo IMontclupi ! She is a horrid woman! There 
 are all sorts of stories about licr first marriage, you 
 know, and how she got her money. They will meet 
 all the canaille of the White party there, and — oh, no, 
 it is certainly not the house for a respectable young 
 married woman to go to, is it, Mousiguore ? ' she added, 
 appealing to Monsignor Chester. 
 
 'Certainly not,' said the latter in his most abrupt 
 manner ; ' they are a most mischievous couple, the young 
 Prince and Princess Brancalcone. They are Liberals ! ' 
 he concluded, getting rather red, and wiping his brow 
 with his pocket-handkerchief. 
 
 ' They say that he is secretly a Freemason,' said Madame 
 de Hohenthal. 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger made the sign of the cross. 
 
 *T shall certainly warn my grand-daughter to have 
 nothing to do with Princess Brancalcone," said Lady 
 ]\Ierton. ' I trust that she will prevent her husband from 
 going to the Palazzo Montelupi.' 
 
 When she and Mrs. St. Leger were left alone together, 
 the latter ventured to remark that Madame de Hohenthal 
 would certainly spread about a report that Lord and Lady 
 Redman did not get on well with each other. 
 
 ' I dare say she will,' replied Lady ^lerton. ' Poor dear 
 INIadame de Hohenthal's tongue runs away with her some- 
 times. It will do no harm if she does invent some story 
 about them ; and if it should come to Lord Redman's ears, 
 it may make him realize wliat is thought of his conduct in 
 trying to separate his \vife from those of her own faith.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger was silent. She had a profound rever- 
 ence for Lady Mcrton as one who had been the means of 
 
 16 
 
242 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 converting many souls to the Church ; and however much 
 she might be aware of the inaccuracy of her statements 
 regarding the condition of things between her grand- 
 daughter and Lord Redman, she was quite convinced in 
 her own mind that, where the making of converts or the 
 advancement of the interests of the Church was concerned, 
 all methods were lawful. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THROUGH the good offices of a friend in the English 
 Embassy, Walter Redman had secured the lease 
 of a villa situated in the modern quarter of Rome for the 
 winter and spring months. 
 
 It was tenanted by a diplomatic couple who were away 
 on leave, and as both Lord Redman and Hilda disliked the 
 idea of hotel life for so many weeks, they had considered 
 themselves fortunate to find a comfortably furnished house 
 which would hold themselves and their servants, and in 
 which they could feel independent of the tourists who 
 were crowding the hotels out of curiosity to witness the 
 medieval ceremonies of the Anno Santo. 
 
 The impression left upon Hilda's mind by the first few 
 days after her arrival in Rome was one of complete be- 
 wilderment. The place seemed so small, and yet so full 
 of vast and varied interests, that it appeared to be well- 
 nigh hopeless to decide as to how to commence the process 
 which she felt could only be described as one of disen- 
 tanglement. 
 
 For the first day or two it was occupation enough to 
 drive about the city and watch the various nationalities 
 with which the streets were thronged. Rome that year 
 seemed to be indeed the mother of the world, and the 
 mixtures of races to be seen jostling each other in the 
 
244 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Corso, or watching the sunset from the Pincio, could only 
 be equalled by the coming and going of the peoples of the 
 earth crossing the Golden Horn by the famous bridge of 
 Galata. 
 
 As a matter of course the first building that Hilda 
 visited was St. Peter's. She and Walter drove down to 
 the great basilica on the morning after their arrival. As 
 they pushed aside the heavy leathern curtains — the 
 ' squash-babies ' of the Romans — and entered the church, 
 her first impression had been one of awed admiration. 
 She had heard that the first glimpse of St. Peter's pro- 
 voked disappointment, that its immense size was not 
 realized except upon better acquaintance with the mighty 
 fabric. 
 
 To Hilda, on the contrary, the imposing dimensions of 
 the church seemed at once to seize hold of her imagination, 
 and to keep it spell-bound. She almost wished afterwards 
 that she had turned and left the building when that one 
 first sense of bewildered admiration was fresh in her 
 mind. 
 
 The vast expanse of marble pavement was dotted over 
 with ever-moving groups of human beings, the sound of 
 whose footsteps was as the sound of the sea in her ears. 
 
 Broad rays of sunlight were streaming down through 
 the square windows of the cupola, flashing upon the 
 golden lamps burning round the confessional of the 
 Apostles, and falling here and there upon the violet 
 robes of some ecclesiastic as he passed to or from the 
 sacristy, and made his genuflection before the sacred tomb 
 or opposite the great gates which guard the altar of the 
 Sacrament. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 245 
 
 Faintly, as though echoed from the threshold of another 
 world, the sounds of chanting fell upon her ears, voices of 
 invisible singers, now swelling into harmony, now soaring 
 aloft in the rich, full notes of a single soprano, the 
 strains of which seemed to tremble and then dissolve into 
 the majestic space of the great dome above. 
 
 Walter Redman, standing by his wife's side, watched 
 the varying expressions of her face. 
 
 ' You are not disappointed ? ' he asked. 
 
 Hilda drew a long breath. 
 
 * Disappointed ! No,' she replied. * It is glorious, 
 Walter. Were you not impressed the first time you came 
 into St. Peter's ? ' 
 
 * Yes,' he said, * I think that I felt as you are feeling 
 now.' 
 
 They walked slowly up the nave of the church together, 
 and the sound of the chanting in the chapel on the left 
 sounded ever louder and more triumphant. High Mass 
 was being celebrated. 'Et credo in Unam Sanctam 
 Catholicam et Apostolicam Ecclesiam ! ' The words of the 
 creed rang out clearly, almost defiantly, as Hilda and her 
 husband paused opposite the open gates of the chapel. A 
 dense crowd was around them. Some few, the oldest and 
 the poorest, were kneeling on the marble pavement, their 
 lips moving in prayer, and a look of rapt devotion on 
 their faces. The majority were whispering and laughing 
 together, nudging each other to look at some peculiarity 
 of the ritual, or standing on camp-stools in order to get a 
 better view. 
 
 * Come away from these people,' said Hilda, in an under- 
 tone, surveying them with a look of mingled surprise and 
 
246 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 disgust. * Let us try to get inside the chapel/ she added ; 
 ^ it will bo better there/ 
 
 It was no very easy matter to push their way gradually 
 through the throng, and by the time they found them- 
 selves within the chapel, the choir in the gallery above 
 burst forth with the opening strains of the Sanctus, 
 Clouds of incense rose and hung, blue and wavering in 
 the sunbeams ; the acolytes and officiating priests grouped 
 themselves in front of the altar, preparatory to the conse- 
 cration of the elements and the elevation of the Host. 
 
 Hilda's eyes wandered round the chapel, and rested 
 upon the rows of ecclesiastics seated in the stalls on 
 each side of the altar, with their purple cassocks and 
 the fur capes on their shoulders. A stir and rustle in 
 the crowd around her betokened the approach of the 
 solemn moments of the Elevation, but the look of bored 
 indifference on the faces of the Canons of St. Peter's gave 
 place to no expression of reverence. Hilda noticed, with 
 the same sense of astonishment and distaste which she 
 had experienced at the behaviour of the sightseers in the 
 nave of the church, that some of the richly robed digni- 
 taries were half asleep, others were taking snuff or whis- 
 pering to one another, while on the countenances of all, 
 with one or two exceptions, was written the weariness 
 produced by a tiresome routine, and on some, she could 
 not help thinking, an impatient incredulity. 
 
 After the Elevation, Hilda and her husband made an 
 attempt to leave the chapel, but the crowd had by this 
 time closed up all means of exit, and they were obliged 
 to await the conclusion of the Mass. 
 
 As the ecclesiastics left, the crowd parted to allow 
 
CASTING OF NETS 247 
 
 them to pass through it. As they came by, not in 
 orderly procession, but shuiiiing carelessly one after the 
 other, Hilda could not help scanning their faces. It 
 was with au undefined feeling of repulsion that she gazed 
 upon the heavy, sensual countenances, the unpleasant- 
 looking mouths, and the furtive, restless eyes which were 
 the distinguishing features of the majority. 
 
 It was with a little sigh of relief that she found herself 
 once more in the broad, open space of the nave. She 
 leaned for a while against one of the pillars, and allowed 
 her gaze to wander round the great temple. As she 
 looked, she became conscious that the first impressions 
 which she had received on entering the building had 
 become less intense. Perhaps her eyes had grown ac- 
 customed to the vastuess around her. It was certain 
 that she felt no longer the same sensation of awe and 
 admiration which had laid hold of her with such force at 
 the moment of her passing the portals of the basilica. 
 
 The scene at the High Mass had jarred upon her. It 
 had seemed to strike a false note on what should be one 
 complete harmony of religious feeling. Hilda was glad 
 that her husband had made no remark to her as they 
 left the chapel. She wondered whether he, also, had 
 noticed the carelessness and want of reverence durincr the 
 Mass. 
 
 But Walter said nothing. He stood by her side and 
 watched with quiet attention the groups of people pass- 
 ing up and down the nave. 
 
 Presently they moved onwards towards the Confes- 
 sional, and here Walter hung back. He knew that his 
 wife, as a Catholic, would wish to kneel before the tomb 
 
248 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 of the Apostles on the occasion of her first visit to St. 
 Peter's. Hilda went forward alone, and joined the group 
 of worshippers kneeling at the white marble balustrade 
 surrounding the steps which lead down to the golden 
 gates of the shrine. 
 
 She knelt a few minutes in silent prayer, and as she 
 endeavoured to concentrate her thoughts, and pray in a 
 spirit which should be worthy of that holy place, she 
 glanced upwards into the great vault of the cupola. Why 
 was it, she wondered, that she could not feel as she wished 
 to feel ? She had prayed better, and felt herself to be 
 nearer to God, in many a little humble church in England 
 — nay, in the privacy of her own room — than she did 
 here in the mighty temple of her faith — in St. Peter's 
 at Rome. Her thoughts refused to submit themselves 
 to her will, and with a vague feeling at once of disappoint- 
 ment and of dissatisfaction with herself, she rose from her 
 knees. She looked round for Walter, and for a minute 
 or two could not see him. At last she distinguished him. 
 He was standing near the supposed statue of St. Peter, 
 watching the people coming up and kissing its worn 
 bronze foot. As Hilda came closer to him, she was 
 struck with the expression on his face. It was not con- 
 tempt or disapproval which she saw written on his coun- 
 tenance, but rather a look of great reverence. She stood 
 a few paces from him, watching him silently. 
 
 A group of pilgrims who had gathered round the statue 
 passed on, and following in their wake came an old peas- 
 ant woman, bent and infirm, leading or being led by a 
 little child. Tremblingly she advanced, and reaching up 
 her mouth to the foot of the statue, kissed it with her 
 
CASTING OF NETS 249 
 
 withered lips, and then pressed her wrinkled brow upon 
 tlie cokl bronze. Stooping down, she tried to lift the 
 child, but her strength was unequal to the task. Then 
 Hilda saw her husband step forward. Raising the child 
 gently in his arms, he held its little face to the statue, 
 the old woman blessing him as he did so. Turning round, 
 he saw Hilda, and came towards her. 
 
 ' The little beggar could n't reach so far,' he said, and 
 Hilda smiled at him without replying. 
 
 Presently he looked inquiringly at her. He had ex- 
 pected her to be more enthusiastic on the glories of St. 
 Peter's, and a glance at her face told him that something 
 was troubling her. The look of reverent admiration which 
 he had seen on her countenance as she came into the 
 church had disappeared, and in its place was one of doubt 
 and perplexity. 
 
 ' It does not impress you ? ' he asked her. 
 
 ' I do not know,' answered Hilda ; ^ it oppresses rather 
 than impresses me, I think. It is not like a church.' 
 
 She gazed around and above her as she spoke. There 
 seemed to her to be no repose for the eye in any part 
 of the vast edifice. Indeed, now that she was able more 
 thoroughly to grasp its details, she realized that it was 
 the eye which was offended at every turn, and that the 
 one redeeming feature which seemed to crush and absorb 
 the vulgarity of the building was the majesty of its pro- 
 portions. Her gaze wandered, seeking rest and finding 
 none, from the distorted statues in their niches above the 
 nave to the grotesque and occasionally painful monuments 
 to the Popes around tlie walls ; from the meretricious 
 haldacchlno above the high altar to the pompous ugliness 
 
250 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 of Bernini's chair of St. Peter behind it at the western 
 extremity of the basilica. 
 
 ^ I suppose that I cannot take it in/ she said, a little 
 
 wearily ; ^ perhaps a second visit ' and then she 
 
 stopped, feeling in her heart that she should never re- 
 cover the lost impression which the first glimpse of the 
 interior of St. Peter's had made upon her. 'Shall we 
 go ? ' she continued. ' I think I have seen enough for 
 this morning.' 
 
 Walter Redman assented readily enough. 
 
 The interior of St. Peter's had never possessed any 
 charm for him ; he regarded it as a colossal monu- 
 ment to bad taste and to arrogance, both worldly and 
 spiritual. 
 
 It was a relief to both when they emerged from the 
 portico, and stood under the pure, blue sky of the heavens. 
 The great fountains were tossing up their waters to the 
 sunlight laughing and sparkling upon them, and the 
 Piazza was thronged with carriages and pedestrians 
 coming and going to and from the basilica and the 
 Vatican. 
 
 They descended the steps, trying to distinguish their 
 carriage among the ranks of those drawn up in the shade 
 of the Colonnades. Winged words were flying between 
 a group of French and German pilgrims as they passed. 
 The faces of the disputants did not wear a particularly 
 holy expression, while ' Cochons d'Allemands ! ' from the 
 Frenchmen, and some decidedly unscriptural language 
 from the Teutons fell upon their ears as they approached 
 them. 
 
 A guardia politely invited the pilgrims to move on, 
 
CASTING OF NETS 251 
 
 and some Romans who witnessed the little scene lanfi^hcd. 
 One of them made some remark which caused Lord Red- 
 man, who overheard it, to laiic^h also. 
 
 ^ What is it all about ? ' Hilda asked him, for Italian 
 was an unknown tongue to her. 
 
 ^ Apparently it is about half a franc,' said Walter, 
 smiling. 
 
 'But what did those Italians say which made the 
 people laugh ? ' 
 
 Walter hesitated. 
 
 * Oh, well, Romans arc very cynical, you know, es- 
 pecially about their priests. One of the pilgrims had 
 dropped half a franc, and another, a German, picked it up 
 and declared that the coin was his. A Roman said to 
 him, "Take it up to the Holy Father and buy an indul- 
 gence w ith it." Of course they could n't understand him, 
 but their language was decidedly bad.' 
 
 ' It was very irreverent of you to laugh, Walter,' said 
 Hilda. 
 
 * I could n't help it,' replied Lord Redman, looking at 
 his wife with some contrition ; ' it was a typical Roman 
 observation, and they have a very luimorous way of say- 
 ing the most sarcastic things. Pasquino would never be 
 at a loss for something to say, if he were allowed to speak 
 in these days.' 
 
 Walter did not think it necessary to explain to his wife 
 the bitter irony which was wrapped up in the remark 
 which had caused so much merriment in the crowd. He 
 had determined to leave her to form her o\vn conclusions 
 from her \isit to Rome, and not to attempt to influence 
 her judgment in any way. 
 
252 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ^ What shall we do this afternoon ? ' he asked, as they 
 drove homeward to luncheon. 
 
 * I thought that we might leave some cards, and drive 
 into the Campagna/ replied Hilda. ^You want to call 
 upon Princess Brancaleone, and to leave the letter which 
 Mr. Shirley gave us to Monsignor Martini,' she continued. 
 
 * Yes,' Walter answered, ^ let us do that. It is better 
 to keep our sight-seeing for the mornings, and a drive 
 in the afternoons will rest you.' 
 
 Hilda looked up at the clock on the Castle of St. 
 Angelo as the carriage turned to cross the bridge. 
 
 ^We shall find my grandmother and Mrs. St. Leger 
 waiting for us,' she said. ' I did not know it was so late.' 
 
 ' Mrs. St. Leger ! Who is she ? ' asked Walter. 
 
 *0h, did I not tell you?' exclaimed Hilda. 'It was 
 very stupid of me to forget to do so. Mrs. St. Leger is 
 a great friend of grandmama's, and when I asked the 
 latter to come to luncheon with us to-day, she asked if 
 she might bring Mrs. St. Leger, as she is staying witli 
 her.' 
 
 ' Do you know her ? ' 
 
 Hilda made a little face. 
 
 'I have seen her once or twice before I married,' she 
 replied. ' She became a Catholic, and she is constantly 
 with my grandmother. I don't think you will like her, 
 Walter.' 
 
 'Probably not,' said the latter dryly; 'but I don't 
 see how you could have avoided asking her under the 
 circumstances.' 
 
 When they readied the villa in the Via Gaeta, the 
 servant who opened the door informed Hilda that 
 
CASTING OF NETS 253 
 
 Lady Merton and another lady were waiting in the 
 drawing-room. 
 
 Whatever coldness had existed towards Hilda and 
 her husband on Lady Merton's part was evidently to 
 be forgotten in Rome, for nothing could exceed the 
 cordiality of her manner to both of them. The meeting 
 between them was rendered the easier inasmuch as there 
 had never been any open hostility on either side. Indig- 
 nant as Walter had been with Lady Merton at the time 
 of his wife's illness, he had determined to have no quarrel 
 with her, and he ;had therefore never enlightened her as 
 to what had made him take such decided measures for 
 preventing Hilda's relatives from having any private 
 access to her while she was laid up. Lady Merton, 
 indeed, had not the least idea of the state of nervous 
 excitement in which her grand-daughter had been, and 
 still less did she suspect that it was Hilda herself who 
 had implored her husband to act as he had done. 
 
 As matters had turned out, Walter Redman felt that 
 he had reason to be grateful to Lady Merton rather 
 than otherwise, since the fact that he and Hilda no 
 longer felt that their difference of opinion on religious 
 subjects was never to be discussed between them was 
 entirely the result, albeit an unforeseen one, of her 
 policy. The conversation at luncheon naturally turned 
 upon Hilda's first impressions of Rome. Lady Merton 
 purred soft notes of approval when she heard that they 
 had been spending their morning at St. Peter's. 
 
 ' Of course,' she said ; ' it is the first thing you would 
 wish to see. One does not feel in Rome until a visit 
 has been paid to the tomb of the Apo.stles.' 
 
254 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' And do tell me, Lady Redman/ said Mrs. St. Leger, 
 ' what did you think of it ? It is so interesting to hear 
 people's first impressions of St. Peter's.' 
 
 Hilda hesitated. Looking across the table, she met 
 her husband's eyes fixed upon her, as though he also 
 was interested to hear her reply. The feeling that he 
 was listening for it seemed to add to the difficulty she 
 found in answering Mrs. St. Leger's question. 
 
 ' It is very — large ! ' she said, after a pause ; and as 
 the words left her lips she fully realized their weakness. 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger and Lady Merton looked surprised, 
 and Hilda fancied that her husband was struggling 
 with an inclination to laugh. It certainly was a very 
 hanal remark, she thought, and she was glad when Mrs. 
 St. Leger's next observation helped her to redeem it. 
 
 ' Ah, yes ! ' the latter replied. ^ One is absolutely 
 bewildered by the immense size of the church; over- 
 come, too, by the holiness and the sacred traditions of 
 the spot. It is only after repeated visits that one is able 
 to take in the full beauty of St. Peter's.' 
 
 'Yes,' exclaimed Hilda with eagerness; 'I am quite 
 sure it must be so! We cannot possibly judge of it 
 from a single visit.' 
 
 'But you,' added Mrs. St. Leger, turning to AValter, 
 'have been several times in Rome, have you not, Lord 
 Redman? You will be able to point out the wonders 
 of St. Peter's to Lady Redman.' 
 
 ' I am afraid I should be a poor guide,' replied Walter 
 with a smile. 
 
 'Ah, well, unluckily you are not one of us, but 
 stiU ' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 255 
 
 Mrs. St. Lcgcr paused aiul became rather red. Lord 
 Redman was looking at lier (juietly, and there was some- 
 tliing in his glance which caused her to feel that she was 
 taking a liberty. 
 
 ^ I am afraid,' continued Walter, ignoring her remark, 
 ' that I have nothing to add to my wife's criticism of 
 St. Peter's that you would be likely to agree with. Ft 
 is certainly very large. That,' he added, a little mali- 
 ciously, ' is a characteristic which nobody can deny to it.' 
 
 'But you do not admire it?' said Lady Merton in 
 astonishment. 
 
 ' Honestly, no, I do not. Tliere are churches in Rome 
 that I admire far more — Santa Maria Maggiore, for 
 instance.' 
 
 'But, surely, Lord Redman, the sanctity of St. 
 Peter's ' murmured Mrs. St. Leger. 
 
 ' I am not criticising its sanctity, but merely its artistic 
 beauty,' replied Walter. 
 
 ' Ah ! ' said Lady Merton. * You must realize the one 
 in order to appreciate the other, my dear Walter ! ' 
 
 Hilda hastened to change the topic of conversation, 
 and caused it to flow into less dangerous channels. As 
 soon as luncheon was over, Walter left the ladies alone 
 together, after suggesting to Hilda that the carriage 
 should be ordered at half-past two. 
 
 ' How are you going to employ your afternoon ? ' asked 
 Lady Merton, when they reached the drawing-room and 
 the servants had brought in the coffee. 
 
 ' We are going to drive on the Campagna,' replied 
 Hilda. 'And Walter wants to call upon one or two 
 people. By the way,' she added, ' iu what part of Rome 
 is the Palazzo jNIontelupi ? ' 
 
256 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'It is in the old quarter, near the Capitol/ said Lady 
 Merton. 
 
 'I suppose you know the Brancaleones ? ' continued 
 Hilda. ' They are friends of Walter's, but I have never 
 seen them.' 
 
 Lady Merton drew herself up stiffly. 
 
 ' I have the barest possible acquaintance with Princess 
 Brancaleone. The Palazzo Montelupi is not a house 
 which loyal Catholics ought to frequent.' 
 
 ' No, indeed ! ' interposed Mrs. St. Leger, with a sigh. 
 
 'Prince Brancaleone is a traitor/ continued Lady 
 Merton. ' He has thrown off his allegiance to his law- 
 ful Sovereign and joined the Italian usurpers of Rome. 
 His wife is not at all a nice person, Hilda, and I am very 
 sorry to hear that Walter knows her.' 
 
 ' But he says she is charming I ' said Hilda. * And I 
 have heard many people say the same thing.' 
 
 'Plenty of men think her charming,' replied Lady 
 Merton dryly, 'but I do not know that their wives 
 agree with them on the subject.' 
 
 ' She is very handsome, is she not ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, undeniably so, and always beautifully dressed — 
 one of those women who put on exactly the right thing 
 for every occasion.* 
 
 * A very dangerous woman ! ' murmured Mrs. St. Leger, 
 looking at Lady Redman out of the corners of her eyes. 
 
 ' In what way dangerous ? ' asked the latter. 
 
 ' Oh, my dear child 1 ' said Lady Merton. ' These sol- 
 disantes political women are always dangerous when they 
 are young and good-looking. There are even some who 
 succeed in being so when they are old. If a woman 
 
CASTING OF NETS 257 
 
 wants to keep a certain number of men, and one particu- 
 lar man, at her feet without causing a scandal, she lias 
 only to i)retend to be political. As a pose it is safer than 
 the artistic or literary one. Artists and authors always 
 manage to get their liaisons talked about. Political 
 women, I suppose, have more knowledge of the world.' 
 
 * Is Princess Brancaleone a political woman ? ' asked 
 Hilda. 
 
 ' She has made her house a centre for the political ad- 
 venturers of the Quirinal party,' answered Lady Merton, 
 Sand for those who are opposed to the Church and religion 
 generally. But there are many people who say that the 
 political salon is only an ante-chamber after all.' 
 
 * Her politics are not likely to interest either Walter or 
 myself,' said Hilda quietly. 
 
 Lady Merton looked a little searchingly at her grand- 
 daughter. 
 
 ' Of course not,' she answered. ' As a Catholic, you 
 could have only one opinion of her political views.' 
 
 ^ But Princess Brancaleone is a Catholic ? I thought 
 that she was born a Carmichael.' 
 
 Lady INIerton shrugged her shoulders. 
 
 ' All these people pretend to be Catholics,' she said, 
 ' but they are false Catholics, traitors to their religion 
 and to the Holy Father. Complete submission, and 
 implicit obedience to the Vatican as representing the 
 seat of civil and religious govcmraent, are the marks of 
 a true Catholic. You will discover that for yourself 
 when you have been a short time in Rome — will she 
 not, Emily ? ' 
 
 * Indeed you will. Lady Redman,' said Mrs. St. Leger, 
 
 17 
 
258 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' and I am thankful that dear Lady Merton, who knows 
 Rome so well, is here to warn you against those wicked 
 people who pretend to be Catholics like ourselves, but who 
 are striving all the time to overthrow our holy religion.' 
 
 ' Well, Hilda/ said Lady Merton solemnly, ^ I hope you 
 will take my advice, for I think that I may fairly claim to 
 know Rome well. You must recollect that Walter is 
 not a Catholic, and he will be unable to protect you from 
 the contaminating influences of such people as the Bran- 
 caleones. It should be your duty, on the other hand, 
 to protect him. You should try your best to ensure that, 
 while your husband is in Rome, he should be thrown 
 with good Catholics.' 
 
 ' Walter is quite capable of taking care of himself,' re- 
 plied Hilda, smiling. ' I should not think of attempting 
 to influence his choice of friends,' she added firmly. 
 
 Lady Merton drew herself up in her arm-chair, and 
 looked in astonishment at her grand-daughter, while Mrs. 
 St. Leger cast her eyes up to the ceiling, whereon were 
 divers well-developed cherubs disporting themselves in a 
 state of nudity, tossing pink legs about among garlands and 
 rose-coloured clouds. 
 
 ' I must confess that I am utterly unable to understand 
 your frame of mind, Hilda,' she said severely. 
 
 There was an uncomfortable pause after Lady Merton's 
 remark. Hilda wished tliat her husband had not deserted 
 her, for she dreaded lest Lady Merton should seize the 
 opportunity of lecturing her upon the necessity of convert- 
 ing him. Since her illness, however, her grandmother did 
 not appear to be so formidable a person. The conscious- 
 ness that she could turn to Walter for advice and assist- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 259 
 
 ancc, and that they were able freely to talk to each other 
 on matters of religious belief, seemed to have given her the 
 strenirth to feel more or less indifferent to what others 
 might think of her conduct in not endeavouring to bring 
 about his conversion to Catholicism. Even the super- 
 natural fears which had been so easily worked upon before 
 her illness now seemed almost entirely to have vanished. 
 She wondered that the words of her relations, and those 
 of the priest whom they had deputed to reason with her, 
 should have had the power to terrify her so much. They 
 did not care about her husband's soul any more than those 
 old Canons whom she had seen lolling in their stalls in 
 St. Peter's that morning cared about the Mass at which 
 they were nominally assisting. It was the temporal wel- 
 fare and influence of an institution which they were seek- 
 ing to advance, not the spiritual benefit of an individual. 
 
 It was with a feeling of relief that Hilda saw the door 
 of the drawing-room open and Walter reappear. Perhaps 
 he had returned to her with the purpose of not leaving her 
 too long alone with Lady Merton and the lady who, had 
 she received any encouragement, would have talked relig- 
 ion to him at luncheon. Hilda noticed that he looked at 
 her a little anxiously as he entered the room. Very shortly 
 after his return to the drawing-room Lady Merton rose, 
 and, accompanied by Mrs. St. liCger, took her departure. 
 The cordiality of her manner had somewhat modified, and 
 Hilda, who knew her moods, could see that she was 
 thoroughly displeased. 
 
 ' A detestable woman ! ' exclaimed Walter, as he heard 
 the hall-door close upon the two ladies. 
 
 * Which — my grandmother ? ' asked Hilda demurely. 
 
26o CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Her husband laughed. 
 
 * I was alluding to the other/ he replied. 
 
 ' Mrs. St. Leger ? I told you that you would not like 
 her. She is supposed to be a saint.' 
 
 Lord Redman laughed again. His wife amused him 
 considerably sometimes. 
 
 ' So I only like the society of sinners/ he replied ; * you 
 should not say so, at all events.' 
 
 ' Walter/ said Hilda suddenly, * is Princess Brancaleone 
 a political woman ? ' 
 
 * Not that I know of/ replied her husband. ' She may 
 be so, perhaps, for she has a great position here. But 
 why do you ask ? ' 
 
 ^My grandmother was talking of her just now. She 
 has been warning me against her.' 
 
 Walter Redman looked puzzled. 
 
 ^ Warning you against her ? ' he repeated. * Why on 
 earth should she do that, I wonder? She is a woman 
 whom everybody knows and likes.' 
 
 * So I thought,' said Hilda. * But they both spoke of 
 her as though she were not a very nice person.' 
 
 *I think that I understand/ observed Walter, after a 
 pause, as though a sudden idea had struck him. *You 
 will soon make her acquaintance,' he added, * and then 
 you will be able to judge for yourself. Perhaps you will 
 find that she is less of a politician than Lady Merton.' 
 
 It was Hilda's turn to look puzzled now, and she was 
 about to ask Walter what he meant when a servant came 
 in to announce that the carriage was waiting, and she 
 went upstairs to dress for her drive. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 HILDA aud her husband had barely finished dinner 
 tliat evening when Prince and Princess Bran- 
 caleone's cards were brought to them. These were ac- 
 companied by a letter addressed to Lady Redman and a 
 note for Walter, and they were told that a servant was 
 waiting for an answer. 
 
 On opening her missive, Hilda found a card inviting 
 her and her husband to dinner at the Palazzo Montelupi 
 the following evening at half-past eight. 
 
 Walter's note was from the Princess herself In it 
 she apologized for the shortness of the invitation, but 
 explained that the evening for which she had asked them 
 was the one on which she received, and that, therefore, 
 if Lady Redman and he would come, she hoped to make 
 them acquainted ^vith some of the Roman world. 
 
 W^alter pushed the note across the table to his wife. 
 
 ' Let us go, by all means ! ' she said when she had read 
 it. ' It is very kind of them asking us at once to dine 
 with them, and I am longing to see the inside of a great 
 Roman palace.' 
 
 She wrote a formal acceptance in French, in which 
 language the invitation was couched, and Walter wrote 
 a note thanking Princess Brancaleone for her kindness 
 in asking his wife and himself, and saying that they should 
 
262 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 both be delighted to come, as he was anxious to present 
 Hilda to her. 
 
 Hilda looked forward with some curiosity to meeting 
 Princess Brancaleone. She had often heard of her as 
 the beautiful Mrs. Vesey who had married a prominent 
 Roman magnate, and, until Lady Merton and Mrs. St. 
 Leger had represented her as a person to be avoided, she 
 had never heard anything but praise of her. Mr. Shirley, 
 she remembered, had been enthusiastic on the subject of 
 Princess Brancaleone when he was at Abbotsbury, and 
 Hilda had become sufficiently acquainted with him to 
 know that he was not given to enthusiasm where women 
 were concerned. She recollected that he had declared 
 Princess Brancaleone to be his ideal of a great lady who 
 understood the responsibilities of her position, and that 
 the Prince was grand seigneur in the same sense of the 
 term. She had been, therefore, considerably surprised 
 at hearing so different an account from Lady Merton, and 
 her curiosity was aroused as to why the latter should 
 have so bad an opinion of her. Walter had declined to 
 enlighten her on the subject, though she had ended by 
 telling him that Lady Merton had solemnly warned her 
 against Princess Brancaleone as ^ a very dangerous wo- 
 man,' and had more than hinted that the danger applied 
 to himself or to any man who might fall under her influ- 
 ence. The account of Lady Merton's warning had moved 
 her husband to laughter, and all that Hilda could induce 
 him to say was that she must judge of the Princess for 
 lierself when she knew her. 
 
 When the hour came for them to go to the Palazzo 
 Montelupi, and they were driving down the brilliantly 
 
CASTING OF NETS 263 
 
 lighted Via Nazionalc and Corso Vittorio Eniaiiucle, 
 Hilda confessed to feeling rather nervous. It was the 
 first time that she had ever been into foreign society, and 
 she was beset by the fear of saying or doing the wrong 
 thing. Walter smilingly reassured her. The only thing 
 which he begged her to remember was, that the man 
 who took her in to dinner would also offer her his arm 
 to take her back to the drawing-room when the meal 
 was over. 
 
 * So do not look at him as if you thought he was going 
 to commit an assault on you, as most Englishwomen who 
 are not used to this custom look at their unfortunate neigh- 
 bour under the circumstances,' he had added, laughing. 
 
 Lord Redman thought that his wife had no cause to 
 feel anxious as to her appearance. Hilda was very well 
 dressed and wore some beautiful jewels, and she was 
 looking extremely pretty. 
 
 The carriage turned out of the main thoroughfare into 
 a network of narrow streets, where cobblers and watch- 
 makers were plying their trade, and could be seen bend- 
 ing over their work by the light of old-fashioned oil-lamps. 
 Picturesque figures, with mantles of green cloth and foxes* 
 fur wrapped close around them to keep out the keen 
 tramontana wind, drew back to avoid being run over, 
 and dark, handsome faces peered in at the carriage win- 
 dows. Presently they drove into the courtyard of the 
 Palazzo Montelupi, and a gorgeously dressed porter, silver 
 stick in hand, advanced to the carriage door and opened 
 it. As Hilda and her husband ascended the great marble 
 staircase, with its banks of palms and bright-coloured 
 azaleas on each side, and found themselves in the first 
 
264 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 of the long suite of magnificent rooms on the first floor of 
 the palace, the former could not help contrasting the 
 space and the beauty around her with the respectable 
 dinginess of their own abode in St. James's Square. It 
 seemed to her that a succession of servants in splendid 
 liveries had ushered them through innumerable apart- 
 ments, each one more imposing than the last, before they 
 were finally handed over to the care of a stately-looking 
 personage in black, who preceded them into a long and 
 brilliantly-lighted room and announced their names. 
 
 Then Hilda saw a tall, beautiful woman with dark hair 
 advancing to meet them with a smile of welcome on her 
 face, and heard Walter saying : 
 
 * Let me present my wife, Princess.' 
 
 ' I am so pleased ; it was really kind of you to come at 
 such short notice, Lady Redman. Lodovico, I want to 
 present you to Lady Redman; you already know Lord 
 Redman, I think ? ' 
 
 It was a singularly soft, musical voice, and the English 
 was spoken with that somewhat slow, deliberate intonation 
 which suggested that the Princess was more accustomed 
 to speak in other languages than in her own native tongue. 
 After a few more words of cordial welcome from her 
 hostess, Hilda was presented to all the members of the 
 party assembled in the room, and Prince Brancaleone per- 
 formed the same ceremony by Walter. There were some 
 sixteen or eighteen guests besides themselves, and Hilda 
 noticed that she and her husband were the only English 
 present. Though she did not understand any Italian, she 
 could, for an Englishwoman, speak French very fairly 
 well, and the conversation appeared to be conducted al- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 265 
 
 most entirely in that language. Dinner was announced 
 presently, and Prince lirancaleone took in one of the Am- 
 bassadresses to the Quirinal, while Hilda found herself 
 placed by the man who had escorted her, whose name she 
 had vainly endeavoured to catch when he was introduced, 
 on the other side of her host. 
 
 There was certainly no stiffness or formality about the 
 dinner-parties at the Palazzo Montelupi, and l^rince Bran- 
 caleone proved to be a very pleasant neighbour. Hilda 
 found the rapidity with which he passed from French to 
 English in his conversation a little confusing at first, but 
 she soon became used to it, and there was a general atmos- 
 phere of ease and kindly hospitality which quickly dispelled 
 any feeling of shyness. 
 
 She was lost in admiration of the beautiful decorations 
 of the dining-room, and could hardly take her eyes off the 
 gorgeous frescoes of the ceiling and the painted frieze 
 which ran round the walls of the apartment. 
 
 ' The ceiling is by Giulio Romano,' said Prince Branca- 
 leone, in answer to her inquiries ; and Hilda found him 
 extremely well-informed on the art treasures of Rome. 
 He gave her, moreover, some useful advice as to what to 
 go to see, and what to avoid going to see, in the Eternal 
 City. 
 
 After dinner Princess Brancaleone came and sat down 
 by her. Hilda thought that she had never met any woman 
 who had made so agreeable an impression upon her on a 
 first acquaintanceship, and she could not help wondering 
 why Lady ^lerton and Mrs. St. Leger had been so severe 
 in tlieir remarks. On one point, however, Lady Merton 
 had certainly been right : Princess Brancaleone was beau- 
 
266 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 tifully dressed, and the only jewels which she wore — a 
 single rivihre of diamonds round her neck — were magnifi- 
 cent. They found many friends in common to talk about, 
 and particularly Mr. Shirley, for whom the Princess seemed 
 to have a sincere regard. 
 
 ' I have known him since I was a girl,' she explained ; 
 and then she added with a smile : ^ Poor dear Mr. 
 Shirley ! his bark is so much worse than his bite. With 
 all his scepticism, there is no one who has a kinder heart, 
 or who does more generous actions.' 
 
 ' You know my grandmother, Lady Merton, do you 
 not ? ' Hilda asked her presently. 
 
 Princess Brancaleone smiled. 
 
 ^Very slightly,' she replied. ^We meet very rarely 
 in the world, and, of course, she would not come here, 
 were I to ask her.' 
 
 'Why not?' asked Hilda. 
 
 Her hostess looked surprised. 
 
 ' Well,' she answered, '■ Lady Merton, I have always 
 heard, is very Black, and does not approve of our 
 political opinions. Like most of our English converts, 
 she is very extreme in her views. They believe what 
 the priests and the clerical newspapers tell them, and 
 regard us Liberals as heretics. They are quite ignorant 
 of all that relates *to this country, of course, and look at 
 everything through the spectacles of the sacristy.' 
 
 'I see,' replied Hilda thoughtfully. 'I am quite 
 ignorant of this country myself,' she added, with a 
 smile, 'but I do not think that I have any prejudices. 
 You are very much interested in politics, are you not, 
 Princess ? ' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 267 
 
 Princess Braiicalconc lauglicHl inorrily. 
 
 * I ? • slic exclaimed. * I detest tlieni ! Lodovico,' 
 she called to lier husband, who hai)pened to be 'near 
 them, 'what do you think — am I a politician?' 
 
 ' Well,' remarked the Prince, ' if you arc, P]lena, I liavc 
 never discovered it ! ' 
 
 There was a general laugh at his reply among those 
 who liad overheard the Princess's question. 
 
 ' Now, I wonder,' she continued, ' why you thouglit 
 that, Lady Redman. My husband is in Parliament, and 
 he is keenly interested in politics, but I — no, certainly 
 not! they are not a woman's province We women are 
 better occupied in our own sphere ; there is so much for 
 us to do in it, especially here in Italy.' 
 
 At this moment the doors at the end of the room 
 were thrown open, and several people entered. The 
 Princess rose from the sofa on which she and Hilda 
 were sitting, and went forward to receive them. After 
 this fresh visitors were constantly arriving, and soon there 
 were some fifty or sixty people scattered about the 
 rooms, while a general buzz of conversation pervaded 
 them. Both the Princess and her husband repeatedly 
 brought up people and presented Hilda to them. She 
 was soon surrounded by a little group, and new-comers 
 instantly inquired who la belle dame Anglaise with the 
 beautiful hair and the fine diamonds might be. 
 
 Presently the Prince approached her, followed by an 
 ecclesiastic dressed in the black cassock stitched with 
 red, and the violet mantle worn by the monsignori when 
 out in the world. 
 
 ' Madame,' he said to her in French, ' permit me to 
 
268 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 present to you an old friend of ours, Monsignor Martini, 
 a great admirer of your country.' 
 
 Hilda rose from her seat, and held out her hand with a 
 smile. 
 
 ' My husband and I are bearers of a letter of introduc- 
 tion to Monsignor Martini from our mutual friend Mr. 
 Shirley,' she replied, smiling. 
 
 Monsignor Martini bowed as he shook hands with her. 
 
 *I must apologize,' he said, ^for not havhig returned 
 Lord Redman's visit, but I was out of Rome until this 
 afternoon, when I found his card and Mr. Shirley's 
 letter.' 
 
 He spoke in excellent English, with scarcely a trace 
 of accent. Hilda looked at him with some attention, 
 and was struck by his frank and benevolent expression 
 of countenance. She moved a little on her sofa in order 
 to make room for him, and Monsignor Martini sat down 
 by her. 
 
 He was a man of middle height, with iron-gray hair, 
 which was already turning to white upon his temples. 
 Tlie face was one of extreme refinement — a refinement 
 which bore about it the stamp of nature, and was un- 
 marred by the traces of severity so often visible in that 
 produced by asceticism. The mouth was gentle though 
 firm, and the heavy, loose lips and disagreeable lines 
 at the corners of them, so common to the priesthood, 
 were features altogether absent from it. Perhaps Mon- 
 signor Martini's eyes were the most remarkable part of 
 his face, after the gentle benevolence of his expression. 
 They were brown eyes, deep and penetrating, yet at 
 the same time soft and kindly in their glance — eyes 
 
CASTING OF NETS 269 
 
 that inspired conridence, and spoke of sympatliy and 
 an understanding of humanity. 
 
 ' And so, Lady llednian, you are in Rome for the first 
 time ? ' ho said, k)oking at Hilda with his steady, tranquil 
 gaze. 'Well, I envy you. I am not going to ask you 
 tiresome questions about your impressions of it.' 
 
 Hilda smiled. 
 
 ' And why not, Monsignore ? ' she asked. 
 
 'Because/ returned Monsignor Martini quietly, 'T do 
 not care to hear them. First impressions of Rome are 
 worth nothing at all.' 
 
 Hilda felt convinced that she should like her new 
 acquaintance. There Avas something about him which 
 both fascinated and interested her. 
 
 * You are a Catholic, I understand,' he said to her 
 presently. 
 
 ' Yes/ replied Hilda. 
 
 ' But Lord Redman — he is not so ? * 
 
 'No.' 
 
 ' And you have come to Rome to gain the indulgences 
 of the Anno Santo, no doubt ? ' 
 
 ' I have come to see Rome.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini looked at her somewhat more 
 attentively. 
 
 ' And you will see it,' he replied. ' Yes/ he continued, 
 almost as though he were speaking to himself, 'you will 
 see Rome in one of her most interesting phases. Are you 
 medieval in your tastes. Lady Redman ? ' 
 
 ' I really do not know/ answered Hilda, smiling. ' Not 
 particularly so, I think.' 
 
 'That is a pity,' remarked Monsignor Martini. 'One 
 
270 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 should have medieval tastes in order properly to appre- 
 ciate Rome in the year 1900.' 
 
 Hilda glanced at him. It was difficult to tell whether 
 he was speaking seriously or not. 
 
 ' I have really seen nothing of Rome as yet,' she said. 
 ' We only arrived two days ago. Of course I have been 
 to St. Peter's, and yesterday afternoon, after leaving 
 our letter for you, we went for a lovely drive in the 
 Campagna.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini's eyes lightened. 
 
 'Ah! ' he said. ' I see that you are wise. Lady Redman. 
 Most people would have gone to the Pincio. i\.nd what 
 do you think of our Roman Campagna ? ' 
 
 'Is not that a tiresome question, Monsignore?* asked 
 HUda. 
 
 Monsignor Martini laughed — a laugh of quiet amuse- 
 ment. 
 
 ' A very fair retort,' he replied. ' But the Campagna 
 is not Rome. It is the work of God — not that of man. 
 I should like to hear your first impressions of it, for you 
 will probably not have occasion to change them.' 
 
 ' Well,' said Hilda, ' it is beautiful, but it gave me an 
 impression of infinite sadness. You will laugh at me, 
 Monsignore, but I felt surrounded by death.' 
 
 ' I do not laugh at you at all. You are quite right. In 
 the Campagna one is surrounded by the dead. Dead 
 civilizations, vanished races ' 
 
 ' A dead religion.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini interrupted her. 
 
 ' A dead religion ? Oh no. Lady Redman ! there you 
 are mistaken. No religion dies.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 271 
 
 Hilda was about to ask him what lie meant when her 
 husband approaclicd them. 
 
 ' Walter,' she exchiimed, as, seeing her engaged in con- 
 versation with an ecclesiastic, he was about to pass on, 
 ' this is Monsignor Martini. Let me introduce my husband 
 to you, iNIonsignore,* she added, and the two men shook 
 hands with each other. 
 
 * And tell me about my friend Mr. Shirley,' said Mon- 
 signor Martini. * Have you seen him lately ? and is he 
 coming to Rome this spring? Ah ! Lord Redman, there 
 is a man with a head — a head to think and a heart to feel. 
 So few people have both.' 
 
 ' You admire him so much ? ' asked Walter Redman, 
 looking at the priest curiously. ' And yet,' he added, ' I 
 should have thought that you would be utterly opposed 
 to his views, iNIonsignore.' 
 
 ^Monsignor Martini twitched his violet silk mantle a little 
 impatiently. 
 
 * I do not care about his ^4ews,' he replied ; ^ they are 
 for himself, and for those who think as he does. You ask 
 me why I admire him ? Well, I admire him for not pre- 
 tending to believe in Christianity when he does not really 
 do so. I admire liim, also, because he is probably a better 
 man without Christianity than he would be with it. In 
 these days such natures are interesting to study.' 
 
 'They arc not so uncommon as people like to think,' 
 said W^alter. ' If I may venture to say so,' he added, 
 with a smile, * such liberal sentiments as those which you 
 have just expressed are uncommon, especially among the 
 clergy.' 
 
 ' I must re-echo your own objection,' said Monsignor 
 
272 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Martini; 'they are not so uncommon as people like to 
 think.' 
 
 ^ The laity seldom hear them.' 
 
 'Ah! as to that,' replied Monsignor Martini, with a 
 twinkle of suppressed merriment in his eyes, 'it is not 
 considered expedient. We do not — what is your English 
 proverb ? — wash our dirty linen in public' 
 
 Lord Redman laughed. 
 
 ' I suppose,' he said, ' that you are afraid of offending 
 your weaker brethren ? ' 
 
 'No,' replied Monsignor Martini dryly. 'We are 
 far more afraid, as a rule, of offending our stronger 
 brethren.' 
 
 The distant notes of stringed instruments came to their 
 ears at that moment, and several people rose from their 
 seats and moved into the other rooms. 
 
 'The Princess generally has music on her Thursday 
 evenings,' said Monsignor Martini. 'She is very fond 
 of it, but she often has it out of charity, as well as out 
 of love for it. She is very kind to struggling artists, 
 and gives them an opportunity of being heard in her 
 house.' 
 
 ' What a beautiful woman she is ! ' said Hilda ; ' and 
 Prince Brancaleone also is extremely good-looking.' 
 
 'She is one of the most noble women we have in 
 Rome ! ' replied Monsignor Martini. ' The good slie has 
 done with her money and her great position in a quiet 
 and sensible way is enormous. I wish that more of our 
 women were like her. Her husband, too, is worthy of 
 her. And now,' he added, ' if Lady Redman will excuse 
 me, I am going to listen to the music. It is for that 
 
CASTING OF NETS 273 
 
 I conic licrc on Thursday evenings. 1 am not very 
 worldly, I am afraid.' 
 
 ' I hope/ said llikhi, ' tiiat you will come and dine 
 with us quietly some evening. It would be such a 
 pleasure to us, would it not, Walter?' 
 
 * It would indeed, Monsignore,' added Lord Redman 
 cordially. * To-day is Thursday. Could you come ou 
 Saturday at halt-past eight?' 
 
 ' I should be delighted.' 
 
 'I am so glad,' said Hilda. *You will not mind if 
 we are alone, or nearly so? You see, we are unknown 
 people in Rome.' 
 
 ^ I shall enjoy myself the more if you are quite alone,' 
 replied Monsiguor Martini, smiling. ^ Ou Saturday, 
 then, at half-past eight ' ; and, bowing over Hilda's 
 extended hand, he left them and made his way towards 
 the room where the music was going on, into which 
 none were supposed to enter who wished to talk ; for 
 Princess Brancaleone, notwithstanding her British birth, 
 had better taste, and better manners towards the artists, 
 than to tolerate conversation in the same room where 
 music was being performed. 
 
 18 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 «1V TO, Hilda/ said Lord Redman decidedly, 'I'll be 
 JL^ hanged if I '11 go ! I did n't come to Rome to 
 attend old ladies' tea-parties. The sight of the women at 
 that embassy last night curtseying and bowing to the 
 priests, and hanging upon every word tliey said, as though 
 they were men inspired, made me feel sick.' 
 
 'But, Walter, grandmamma will be dreadfully 
 oflfended.' 
 
 ' Then she must get over it,' returned Walter Redman. 
 ' I was introduced to one tiresome woman after another 
 last night, chiefly English and all impossible; and the 
 men were worse than the women. By Jove ! ' he added, 
 drawing a long breath, ' I never saw such a set of 
 bounders as the men!' 
 
 Hilda laughed in spite of herself, though she felt sure 
 that Lady Merton would resent her husband's absence 
 from the tea-party which she was giving that Saturday 
 afternoon, in order, as she had told her grand-daughter 
 markedly, to introduce her and Walter to some of the 
 respectable Catholic society of the place. She had sent 
 them cards for an evening party given the night before by 
 one of the Ambassadresses to the Holy See, who, she 
 declared, had expressed a great desire to make their 
 acquaintance. Both Lord and Lady Redman had been 
 
CASTING OF NETS 
 
 275 
 
 quite ready, after the pleasant evening wliicli tliey had 
 spent at the Pakizzo Montchipi, to essay the lihiek world 
 under Lady Merton's winj^. Tiie result had not been 
 satisfaetory. The Uednians had found themselves in the 
 midst of a soeiety whieh had appeared to them to be a 
 strange mixture of eeelesiasties and English people of the 
 middle class, with a sprinkling of Romans and of other 
 nationalities. Neither Walter llednuui nor Hilda liked 
 being toadied, and the attentions of IMrs. St. Leger and 
 her frieuds, whose acquanitancc she msisted on their 
 making, had at first bored and then annoyed them. 
 Madame de Ilohenthal had discoursed to Walter of her 
 friendship with half the well-known people of England, 
 without being at all aware that in some cases she was 
 talking to him of his near relatives, and of her intimacy 
 with English and Continental royalty generally. His 
 patience being at length exhausted, Lord Redman had 
 told her that for his part he would walk a quarter of a 
 mile to avoid meeting a royalty, whereat she had stared 
 at him with ill-concealed astonishment and contempt, and 
 had concluded that he was a socialist. 
 
 Lady Merton was in her favourite clement that evening. 
 She purred to Cardinals and dignitaries of the Vatican, 
 who were among the guests of the Ambassadress, while 
 she received a considerable amount of homage from the 
 English converts, and a certain attention from the prom- 
 inent Romans of the Black party, who saw in her a zealous 
 disseminator in England of their political ideas. She 
 presented her grand-daughter to various Princes of the 
 Church and other ecclesiastics, and also to some of the 
 principal ladies of the Black world in Rome. It was evi- 
 
276 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 dent to Hilda that she and Walter were regarded with a 
 certain interest, but she wished that some other topic of 
 conversation could be found than the Anno Santo, the 
 pilgrims, and the prescribed visits to the basilicas in 
 order to gain the indulgences. The ease and simplicity 
 which had been a characteristic of the gathering at 
 the Palazzo Montelupi were altogether absent, and it 
 seemed as though everyone were acting a part, and 
 that each one was trying to outdo his or her neighbour 
 in orthodoxy. 
 
 The end of it had been that Walter had grown uncon- 
 trollably restive, and had insisted upon going away. As 
 they drove homeward through the Piazza di Spagna, and 
 up the steep hill of the Quattro Fontane, he had vowed 
 that he would never go to another Black entertainment, 
 declaring that if Hilda liked to do so she would have to 
 go alone, and that he would go to a theatre. 
 
 As for Lady Merton's tea-party, he would not hear 
 of it. Hilda must go, of course, aud she could tell him 
 how she had enjoyed herself when she returned. 
 
 And so Hilda went. She made what excuses she could 
 for her husband, but when she looked round the room she 
 could not blame him for his decision to stop away. She 
 saw a predominant number of her own sex, two or three 
 English priests, and a few men who, for some reason or 
 other, were not priests. 
 
 ' And how do you like Rome ? ' said Madame de Hohen- 
 thal to her. 
 
 They were all seated about the tea-tables, and Hilda's 
 wants were being ministered to by one of the untonsured 
 men. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 277 
 
 'I have not been here long enough to judge/ whe 
 replied. 
 
 ^ It is such II privilege to be in lloiue this year/ said 
 Mrs. St. Leger, with a sigh. 
 
 ' Hilda/ said Lady Merton from the tea-table, * we are 
 all very nuieh astonished to hear tliat you and Walter 
 dined with Prince and Princess Brancaleone the other 
 night.' 
 
 Hilda was conscious of many pairs of eyes being fixed 
 upon her. 
 
 ^ Yes/ she replied ; ^ we had an extremely pleasant 
 evening. What a magnificent house it is ! We have 
 nothing in London which can the least compare with 
 it. Of course you know it, madame ? ' 
 
 Madame de Hohenthal shuddered. 
 
 ' I ? My dear Lady Redman ! We, who trust that 
 we are good Catholics, do not visit such people as 
 Prince and Princess Brancaleone ! You are a stranger 
 to Rome, and cannot be expected to know * 
 
 'A stranger may be forgiven for not feeling nmch 
 interest in political differences,' said Hilda, smiling. 
 
 * Nobody is a stranger in Rome who is a Catholic,' said 
 Father Remington. 
 
 ^ So true — so beautifully true I ' murmured Lady 
 Merton. 'I do not think/ she continued, ^tliat you 
 know Father Remington, Hilda, except of course by 
 name as one of our most valued converts. Father 
 Remington is preaching a series of sermons at San 
 Silvestro for English-speaking Catholics. But with 
 regard to Princess Brancaleone, she is not a person 
 whose set is a very desirable one for you to fall into.' 
 
278 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * She has done untold harm in Rome/ said the Am- 
 bassadress at whose house Hilda had been the night 
 before, ^ and not in Rome only, but wherever her husband 
 has property.' 
 
 *And, besides, her antecedents,' added Madame de 
 Hohenthal ; ' they are more than questionable. I do 
 not mean as to birth, of course ; but everybody knows 
 that her first husband was on the point of divorcing her 
 when he died by an accident, and before he had altered 
 his will ; so she got all his money, after having behaved 
 disgracefully to him.' 
 
 ^ But Lady Redman cannot be expected to understand 
 all these things,' observed Mrs. St. Lcgcr. 
 
 'Did you know her in England?' asked Madame de 
 Montana, the Ambassadress. 
 
 ^My husband has known her for some years,' replied 
 Hilda. 
 
 Madame de Hohenthal glanced significantly at Mrs. 
 St. Leger. 
 
 ' She is the sort of woman whom everybody's husband 
 has known for some years,' she remarked. 
 
 Hilda coloured, and was about to reply. Then she 
 checked herself, and gave Madame de Hohenthal a 
 haughty little stare, which the latter, being extremely 
 short-sighted, did not see. 
 
 ' I am sure,' said Lady Merton to the company gener- 
 ally, ' that my grand-daughter would not knowingly go to 
 anti-Catholic houses in Rome, and still less would she 
 wish to encourage her husband to do so. We must 
 remember that Lord Redman is not as yet a Catholic. 
 He cannot be expected to understand the feeling with 
 
CASTING OF NETS 279 
 
 which loyiil .subjects of the Holy Fjitlicr regard tliose 
 who, like Prince Bmncaleoue and his wife, have turned 
 against their hiwful Sovereign and our holy religion.' 
 
 *And yet,' observed Hilda quietly, * my husband and 
 I met a Catholic priest among l^incess Brancaleouc's 
 guests.' 
 
 ^A priest!' exclaimed several of those around her in 
 astonishment. * What priest could you have met in 
 that house ? ' 
 
 * Lady Redman probably refers to Moiisignor Martini. 
 I believe that he is a freciuent visitor at the Palazzo 
 Moutclupi,' said Father llemingtou in smooth, level 
 tones. 
 
 Hilda glanced at him, and made a rapid mental com- 
 parison betwecu Mousignor Martini's kindly, intellectual 
 countenance, and that of Father Remington, which was 
 not to the advantage of the latter. 
 
 * Yes,' she replied, ' Monsignor Martini. I thought 
 him a most interesting man. I am glad to say that he 
 is dining with us to-night.' 
 
 ^Monsignor Martini!' exclahned Lady Merton. *OIi, 
 my dear child, you do indeed require somebody at your 
 side to advise you in Rome ! Why, the man is disgraced 
 — a suspended priest ! ' 
 
 'Pardon me, dear Lady Merton,' said Father Rem- 
 ington, ' but Monsignor Martini is not suspended a 
 divinis ; he is forbidden to preach in the diocese of 
 Rome on account of his subversive doctrine and Liberal 
 tendencies.' 
 
 * It is almost the same thing,' replied Lady Merton. 
 'He turned his church into a sort of political meeting- 
 
28o CASTING OF NETS 
 
 house, and insulted his congregation by asking them to 
 pray for tlie Italian monarchy — here in Rome ! ' 
 
 ^ Ah ! ' said Madame de Hohenthal. ^ If it were only 
 his politics which were open to objection ! ' 
 
 'He is certainly not a person of very good repute,' 
 remarked Father Remington ; ' but he has powerful 
 friends at the Vatican, otherwise he would not have 
 been let off so easily.' 
 
 ' You see, Lady Redman, the sort of priest whom 
 you meet at the Palazzo Montelupi/ said Mrs. St. 
 Leger. 
 
 ' Yes, Emily,' said Lady Merton, ' you are quite right. 
 A priest who had any sense of respect for his sacred office 
 would not be seen at Princess Brancaleone's receptions. 
 Monsignor Martini is very badly looked upon in Rome, 
 as any one of us could have told you had you made in- 
 quiries about him before asking him to dine with you.' 
 
 Hilda did not reply, but sat looking from one to the 
 other of Lady Merton's guests with a feeling of disgust in 
 her heart. She had only been a few days in Rome, but 
 already she was beginning dimly to understand that 
 Catholicism here did not mean quite the same thing as 
 in England. She was vaguely conscious of the existence 
 of an element at Rome which, if it existed at all in Eng- 
 lish Roman Catholicism, was carefully kept in the back- 
 ground, whereas here it appeared to occupy the primary 
 position, and to relegate religion to a secondary place. 
 The want of charity among her co-religionists surprised 
 her, while the readiness to attack the moral characters of 
 those from whom they differed shocked and offended her. 
 
 ' I hope/ said ]Mrs. St. Leger to her, ' that Lord Red- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 281 
 
 man is impressed by all he is seeing at Rome. Of course 
 you will take him to witness the extraordinary scenes of 
 piety at the basilicas ? How earnestly you must be pray- 
 ing that he may receive the grace to discern the truth ! 
 You know,' she continued in an undertone, 'Father 
 Remington has such a marvellous influence with men. 
 He has brought so many young men into the Church ; 
 it is his particular gift. It would be such a good thing 
 if he and Lord Redman could be thrown together. Do 
 not think me presuming, dear Lady Redman, but we all 
 take so much interest in your happiness, for your dear 
 grandmother's sake as well as for your own.' 
 
 'And my husband,' asked Hilda— 'are you not in- 
 terested in his conversion for his sake, Mrs. St. Leger ? 
 It seems to me that it is a matter which should affect 
 him more than anybody else.* 
 Mrs. St. Leger cast down her eyes. 
 'Oh, of course,' she replied, and then she lookc»l at 
 Hilda a little doubtfully, as though uncertain whether 
 the latter's words did not contain some sarcasm. 'Of 
 course, Lord Redman's soul is our first thought, but we 
 all feel so much sympathy for you. Now, Father Rem- 
 inoion is wonderful in these cases. If your husband 
 would only confide his difficulties to him, I am sure that 
 he would not repent having done so. He understands 
 men so well ; in fact, he does not like confessing women. 
 Do, dear Lady Redman, make the experiment, and invite 
 Father Reminp^ton to your house.* 
 
 'Thank you, Mrs. St. Leger,' replied Hilda coldly. 
 ' You are vcit kind to take so much interest in us both ; 
 but I am not in the habit of experimenting upon my 
 
282 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 husband ; and, to tell you the truth, I do not feel in need 
 of any sympathy.' 
 
 Mrs. St. Leger looked shocked. 
 
 ^ Oh, my dear Lady Redman ! ' she began. 
 
 Hilda rose from her chair and crossed the room to 
 where Lady Merton was sitting talking to Madame de 
 Hohenthal and Father Remington. 
 
 ^ Surely you are not going to leave us, Hilda ? ' ex- 
 claimed Lady Merton. * I am expecting several more 
 people. Monsignor Chester promised to come, and Prin- 
 cess Castelnuovo and her daughters. She is a delightful 
 person. The Castelnuovo are a great Roman house, and, 
 unlike the Brancaleone, they have remained loyal to the 
 Sovereign Pontiff.' 
 
 ' Thank you, but I really must go,' replied Hilda. She 
 felt that a little more of Mrs. St. Leger and Madame de 
 Hohenthal would cause her to lose her temper. 
 
 ' Poor thing ! ' said Madame de Hohenthal, when the 
 door of the drawing-room had closed upon Lady Redman. 
 
 ' She is very brave about it,' said Mrs. St. Leger, ' but 
 it must be a terrible trial to her.' 
 
 ^ It is a great misfortune that they have come across 
 Monsignor Martini,' observed Father Remington. 'I re- 
 gard him as a most dangerous man. He is one of those 
 misguided spirits who, as Mivart did, attempt to reconcile 
 Catholic doctrine with the exercise of private judgment. 
 The end of such men is always the same ; but how many 
 others do they not drag down with them to everlasting 
 misery ! ' 
 
 ' Ah ! ' sighed Lady Merton ; ' how many, indeed ! ' 
 
 ' It is a pity,' said Madame de Hohenthal, ^ that Lady 
 
CASTING OF NETS 283 
 
 Redman docs not sccni to understand what a dangerous 
 friend such a woman as Princess Hrancaleonc is for a 
 young man like lier husband. I must confess I feel very 
 sorry for her when I think that Lord Redman will have 
 every facility here in Rome for resuming what is, no 
 doubt, an old flirtation. Perhaps, if she could be made 
 to see the matter in this light, jealousy would make her 
 avoid the Brancaleone set, and her husband would be 
 thrown more with Catholics. What do you think, dear 
 Lady Merton?' 
 
 ' Possibly,' replied the latter. ^ But we have no grounds 
 for saying that anything more than a mere accjuaintance- 
 ship ever existed between Lord Redman and Princess 
 Brancaleone.' 
 
 ' If it is not true, so much the better,' returned Madame 
 de Hohcnthal. * There surely can be no harm in making 
 use of Lady Redman's affection for her husband in order 
 to protect him against a very mischievous entourage — 
 do you think so, Father Remington ? ' 
 
 ' Considering the ultimate aim in view/ replied Father 
 Remington slowly, ' and the fact that Lord Redman's 
 conversion to the Church would be imperilled by intimacy 
 with Liberals like Prince and Princess Brancaleone and 
 the party by which they are surrounded, I should say. 
 Certainly not. ]\Iadamc de Hohcnthal regards the case 
 from a diplomatic point of view. If diplomacy is some- 
 times necessary in worldly matters, it is surely permissible 
 to employ it when great spiritual interests are at stake.' 
 
 ' Exactly ! ' said Madame de Ilohentiial. 
 
 ' But how do you propose to arouse in her a dislike 
 to Princess Brancaleone ? ' asked Lady Merton. 
 
284 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Madame de Hohenthal smiled. 
 
 ' It should not be difficult/ she replied, ^ as Lady Red- 
 man is so devoted to her husband. A word here, and a 
 word there, and doubts will arise in her mind, the more 
 easily as Princess Brancaleone is a good-looking woman.' 
 
 'But,' objected Mrs. St. Leger, 'if there is no truth in 
 it all, Lady Redman will not care.' 
 
 ' Probably not ; but Lord Redman will care. He will 
 avoid the Palazzo Montelupi in order to show his wife that 
 there is nothing in the story, and the same end will have 
 been gained.' 
 
 ' Ah ! ' said Father Remington, smiling. ' One sees that 
 Madame de Hohenthal has had a diplomatic training.' 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 BOTH Hilda and licr Imsband found tliat the favour- 
 able impression which IMonsignor Martini had made 
 upon them increased on their becoming better acquainted 
 with him. Notwithstanding Lady Merton's remonstrances 
 with her grand-daughter, he was their constant companion 
 in their visits to the churches, galleries, and antiquities of 
 Rome. The fund of information which he possessed, his 
 intimate acquaintance with the art treasures of the Eternal 
 City, and his knowledge of classic and medieval Rome, 
 caused him to be a most useful guide, while the breadth of 
 his mental \ision and a certain quiet sense of humour made 
 his companionship at once instructive and amusing. Walter 
 Redman and he rapidly became great friends, and found in 
 each other a common bond of sympathy with, and interest 
 in, the social problems of life. 
 
 As Mr. Shirley had said was the case, Monsignor 
 Martini had travelled much. His knowledge of England 
 and the English character was as remarkable as his com- 
 plete command of the English tongue, and his Italian 
 quickness of perception, coupled with a considerable ele- 
 ment of that spirit of satire which has ever been engrained 
 in the Roman nature, often added a pungency to his obser- 
 vations which Walter was very capable (jf appreciating. 
 
286 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Hilda regarded the increasing intimacy between her 
 husband and Monsignor Martini with secret satisfaction. 
 Hitherto she had observed that it was sufficient for a man 
 to belong to the clergy of any denomination for Walter to 
 shut himself up in an impenetrable reserve when in his 
 company, and to assume a courteous indifference to spirit- 
 ual matters which she knew he was very far from feeling. 
 It was this indifference which Father Galsworthy had so 
 much deplored, and which he had truly described as the 
 most unassailable form of Protestantism. 
 
 Since she had been able freely to talk to him on such 
 subjects, she had more than once expostulated with him 
 on this attitude, which, she had frankly told him, was both 
 an unfair and narrow-minded one. He should at least 
 hear what the men from whom he differed had to say in 
 support of their own doctrines and systems. Walter as- 
 sured her that he had not assumed it without cause or 
 provocation. He had often, he told her, attempted to dis- 
 cuss religious difficulties with ecclesiastics, both Catholic 
 and Protestant, but the result had not been satisfactory. 
 They had invariably entrenched themselves behind dogma, 
 and when this entrenchment was no longer defensible, 
 they had retreated and raised up another, and called it the 
 Holy Ghost. From the shelter of this last position argu- 
 ments were no longer necessary. Assertions were employed 
 instead, and discussion became impossible. 
 
 Hilda was obliged to confess to herself that Walter was 
 not altogether misstating the facts of the situation, and 
 she found it hard to reply to the objection. 
 
 As the weeks passed in Rome, she realized more and 
 more clearly that were her husband to see much of Lady 
 
CASTING OF NETS 287 
 
 Merton and the set by wliicli the hitter was surrounded, 
 his prejudices a<j;ainst dogmatic religion generally, and 
 Catholicism in particular, would inevitably become stronger 
 than ever. Her own faith, moreover, had been severely 
 tried by much tliat she had seen and heard in Rome. Re- 
 garding Lady Re(bnan as one of themselves, the Catholics 
 whom she met in the houses of Lady Merton and her 
 friends had not considered it to be necessary to moderate 
 their opinions in her presence. Indeed, they had talked 
 before her with the object of demonstrating that the 
 Church in Italy was persecuted, and that nobody could 
 honestly claim to be a Catholic who did not protest against 
 the existing form of government. It was evident to Hilda 
 that religion at the centre of Catholicism was a mere 
 question of party politics, and that the cnvj, hatred, and 
 uncharitableness to be found in all political arenas existed 
 in their most pronounced and virulent forms among the 
 political faction in Rome which carried on its campaign in 
 the name of Christ. 
 
 She had spoken both to Monsignor Martini and to Prin- 
 cess Brancaleone on the subject. A mutual friendship had 
 sprung up between the latter and herself, and the more 
 intimate Hilda became with the Princess, the more indig- 
 nant she felt wdien she heard the ill-natured innuendos 
 which her Black acquaintances were never weary of mak- 
 ing: concerning: her and her husband. 
 
 The whole object of the Prince and Princess seemed to 
 be to promote the well-being and progress of their less 
 fortunate fellow-creatures. Far from hearing religion 
 treated with contempt and derision, as she had been as- 
 sured was the case in the Palazzo Montelupi, she could 
 
288 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 not help noticing that a much greater reverence and re- 
 spect was paid to it by her White friends than by her 
 Black ones. It was less talked about, perhaps, but sacred 
 things were not alluded to with the careless irreverence 
 which not unfrequently startled and shocked her when 
 proceeding from ecclesiastics and from those who professed 
 tlie greatest devotion to the Church. Superstitious obser- 
 vances and manifest impostures were honestly condemned 
 by those whom she heard designated as traitors and bad 
 Catholics by the devotees whom she met in such houses as 
 Lady Merton's. Their degrading influence on the lower 
 orders was sorrowfully admitted and deplored ; they were 
 not dismissed with a shrug of the shoulders and a cynical 
 admission that the mob must believe in something, and 
 that the shrines where such impostures were practised 
 brought money to the coffers of the Church ; or, worse 
 still, declared with hypocritical insistence to be holy 
 miracles by those who privately scoffed at them. 
 
 Hilda had poured forth some of her perplexities, and 
 some of her disillusions, into Princess Brancaleone's ears ; 
 and the latter had gazed at her with a quiet smile on the 
 beautiful face which looked so happy and peaceful, and 
 yet, Hilda thought, as if its owner had known sorrow and 
 unhappiness in the past. 
 
 ' You are learning the meaning of our Roman proverb, 
 "The nearer the Church, the further from God,"' the 
 Princess had said to her. ' I liad to learn it also when 
 I became a Roman by marriage. We are pagans here. 
 It is only when it gets far away from the influences of 
 the Vatican, with its miasma of worldly intrigue and 
 ambitions, that Catholicism becomes a spiritual power. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 289 
 
 Ask Consignor IMartini; Jic is a priest, and a good 
 man. He knows Kunie as few men know it, and he 
 remains a C'atholie priest. A weaker man than he would 
 have left the Chureh/ 
 
 In the course of their excursions together about the 
 city, and expeditions into the Campagna and the Alban 
 Hills, Hilda had many conversations with Consignor 
 Martini. At first she had rather avoided any mention 
 of religion to him, thinking that it would bore her 
 husband or cause him to suspect that she and the priest 
 were talking at him. 
 
 It was Walter himself, however, who appeared anxious 
 to hear Monsignor Martini's views, and that he should 
 be so was a proof to his wife that he regarded them 
 as worthy of attention. She desired nothing better than 
 that he should listen to the ideas of an enlightened and 
 broad-minded man who was at the same time a priest of 
 the Roman Church, and the fact that Monsignor Martini 
 had incurred the displeasure of the Vatican did not weigh 
 with her so greatly as it would have done before her visit 
 to Rome. That Walter would ever become a Catholic 
 she had ceased to hope ; but it might be that a man like 
 Monsignor Martini, with his broad sympathies and faith 
 in the spirit of Christianity rather than in the letter of 
 dogmatic teaching, would open out to him a way to that 
 reconciliation between his reason and some settled form 
 of religious belief and trust of which she was convinced 
 that her husband stood more in need than he was con- 
 scious of being. 
 
 It was the first week of April, and spring was rushing 
 with great strides over the land, as spring in Italy does. 
 
 19 
 
290 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 The very air felt tingling and quivering with the Spirit of 
 Life. The billowy green plains of the Roman Campagna 
 were sweet with the scent of wild flowers, starred with 
 jonquils, or clothed here and there as with drifts of newly- 
 fallen snow, where patches of delicate narcissi gleamed 
 white in the hollows and on the slopes of the broken 
 banks. The ghostly asphodel sighed and rustled as the 
 light breeze passed over it, as though whispering a mes- 
 sage to the dead, and to the forgotten gods of the past. 
 In every spot where man had spared trees or left a thicket 
 a nightingale trilled, and overhead, from somewhere far 
 up in the turquoise-coloured sky, came floating earthwards 
 the ceaseless song of larks. 
 
 Walter and Hilda had spent the day at Nerai, and 
 wandering among the chestnut and oak woods of Gen- 
 zano. They had left Rome early that morning, and 
 Monsignor Martini accompanied them. The latter was 
 always ready to join them on an expedition into the 
 country. The love of nature was another taste which 
 he shared in common with Walter Redman, and one 
 which had been the means of drawing the two more 
 closely together. The Redmans often thought that he 
 talked more freely when he had left the walls of Rome 
 behind him. 
 
 The three were sitting beneath a group of ancient 
 olive-trees, whence they could see the sun sinking slowly 
 downwards to the silver line of the Mediterranean glitter- 
 ing in the west, and the purple shadows creeping across 
 the plain to where the cupola of St. Peter's rose through 
 the golden haze, showing where Rome lay. From the 
 vineyards and orchards on the slopes below came the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 291 
 
 voices of the peasants, singing as they worked the mourn- 
 ful Romancsco songs, with their pathetic minor cadences 
 suggestive of Eastern origin. 
 
 ' I think,' said Lord Redman, * that one of the pleasant- 
 est things in Rome is being able to get out of it' 
 
 Monsignor Martini smiled. 
 
 'That is rather what you call a bull, is it not?' he 
 replied ; ' but I quite agree with you, and so did tlie old 
 Romans. Their descendants,' he added, ^as a rule do 
 not love the country.' 
 
 ^ You are an exception, Monsignore,' said Hilda. 
 
 ' It is the old paganism coming out in him,' observed 
 her husband, smiling. ' Its spirit is too strong to be 
 conquered, even by the Church.' 
 
 ' The Church has, very wisely, never attempted to con- 
 quer it,' replied Monsignor Martini. ' In this country we 
 arc all pagans at heart,' he continued, 'and the Church 
 assimilates our paganism, and seeks to direct it into 
 deeper and purer channels. If Christianity would hon- 
 estly admit its debt to paganism, there would be fewer 
 incredulous Christians in the world.' 
 
 Hilda turned and looked at him earnestly. 
 
 * Oh,' she exclaimed, ^ I am glad to hear you say that ; 
 it explains so many things in Rome which have ' 
 
 ' Distressed you,' interrupted Monsignor Martini gently, 
 as she paused. ' I have known many Catholics who have 
 been distressed at what they see in this Italy of ours, and 
 many Protestants who have been scandalized. You, Lady 
 Redman, are one of the former. You have been more 
 perplexed than edified by what you have seen in Rome, 
 have you not ? ' 
 
292 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' Yes/ answered Hilda simply ; ' but how do you know, 
 Monsignore ? ' 
 
 ' Your face is not a very hard one to read,' he replied, 
 ^ and as to your perplexity, it is as natural as the disgust 
 of the Protestants. You do not understand our paganism, 
 that is all.' 
 
 ^ May I speak plainly ? ' asked Hilda. 
 
 ' We are not in Rome,' said Monsignor Martini, look- 
 ing beyond her to where in the far distance the sun was 
 shining on the golden cross of St. Peter's. 
 
 ' Well,' returned Hilda, * it is a shock to find that 
 paganism is not dead. It seems to me that one is re- 
 minded of it at every turn.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini shrugged his shoulders. 
 
 ' Pan never died,' he said. ^ Some foolish people have 
 said and thought that he did ; but it is not true. He 
 and the gods live on. Does that shock you so much ? ' 
 
 ^ The superstition shocks me ; it all seems to • be so 
 material,' said Hilda. ^ One cannot help wondering 
 whether the uneducated people do not lose sight of the 
 truth when it is surrounded by so much symbolism.' 
 
 * They are superstitious — grossly superstitious,' an- 
 swered Monsignor Martini, ^ but in all superstition there 
 is a far-off whisper of truth. Our paganism should not 
 shock you. Remember that the Roman Church is the 
 residuary legatee of the Roman Empire, and that she 
 has given civilization to the world. What would you 
 give us. Lord Redman,' he added, turning suddenly to 
 the latter, ' instead of our superstitions 1 ' 
 
 Walter had been listening attentively to the conver- 
 sation between his wife and the ecclesiastic. It was the 
 
CASTING OF NETS 293 
 
 first time that he had heard Hilda remark upon the im- 
 pressions whieh her visits to the lloman Churehes had 
 left upon her mind, and her words had eoniirmed his 
 suspicions that these impressions had not been entirely 
 satisfactory. 
 
 ^I cannot argue the matter with you, Monsignore,' he 
 said after a pause. 
 
 * And why not? Because I am a priest, I suppose ! ' 
 
 * Indirectly, yes. One cannot discuss the gods with 
 a creator of God.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini's eyes contracted a little, and then 
 the expression of a great reverence overspread his features. 
 
 * Ah ! ' he replied in a low tone. * That is a mystery 
 into which I, a priest, dare not seek to penetrate. The 
 Church has willed that we should accept a material as 
 well as a spiritual interpretation of it. Why do you 
 introduce it into our present discussion. Lord Redman ? ' 
 
 He looked round him uneasily as he spoke, though the 
 three were alone together under the olive-trees. The 
 cuckoos were calling to each other in the woods above 
 them, the cicale shrilled at their feet, and Rome was far 
 away, yonder where the haze was denser, and only the 
 great dome, poised between heaven and earth, marked 
 the site of the Eternal City. 
 
 Walter Redman raised himself into a sitting posture, 
 his back against one of the gnarled, moss-covered stems 
 of the olives. 
 
 ^ I did not introduce it,' he said, looking at the priest. 
 ' It introduces itself into any discussion upon your creed. 
 How could it be otherwise ? To you, and to those like 
 you, Monsignore, it is given to work a stupendous miracle 
 
294 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 — a thing before which the human imagination reels 
 and shrinks back awe-stricken. What can the old gods 
 be to such as you, who, by speaking certain words, and 
 making certain signs, can hold in the hollow of your 
 hand the flesh and the blood of the Creator of the 
 universe ? ' 
 
 'It is a mystery,' repeated Monsignor Martini; 'and 
 the words of Christ but veil some deeper mystery still 
 
 — the Mystery of Life. Were the corn god and the wine 
 god not worshipped and sacrificed here where we are 
 sitting? Did Christ speak a new thing, or did He not 
 rather set His seal upon a hidden truth which is as old 
 as the world itself? jS'o, Lord Redman ! The old gods 
 are dear to me inasmuch as they prefigure those eternal 
 truths of which the Catholic Church of to-day is the de- 
 pository. The ancient faiths had their divine element, 
 though they lacked a Christ. We Latins have grafted 
 the rose of Christianity on the briar of Paganism, but the 
 stock is the same.' 
 
 'But surely,' interposed Hilda, 'you would not com- 
 pare the two systems ? ' 
 
 'No,' replied Monsignor Martini, 'I would not, so far 
 as the good efi*ect which they have had on mankind is 
 concerned, for there can be no comparison. Christianity, 
 when true to itself, has a more ennobling influence on 
 human nature than the purest forms of paganism ever 
 exercised. But our Christianity is not true to itself It 
 is of Caesar, not of Christ. That is why you find your- 
 self perplexed in Rome, Lady Redman ; but there is no 
 reason why you should be shocked.' 
 
 ' It is so diflferent with us in England.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 295 
 
 * Of course it is. Your Eiiglisli Catholicism is Koiiiau 
 only in name. Here it is Roman in reality. It can no 
 more rid itself of its pagan elements than the grafted rose 
 can rid itself of its briar stock. A political Christianity 
 has succeeded to a political Paganism, that is all. Leo 
 XIII. has succeeded to the Cicsars.* 
 
 ' Then you do not consider Christianity to be true to 
 itself in Rome ? ' asked Walter. 
 
 Monsignor JMartini paused for a moment. 
 
 ' Was Paganism true to itself in Rome ? ' he remarked 
 presently. * It degenerated into a purely political religion. 
 The ancient truths, or semi-truths, were lost sight of in 
 political struggles. Only the superstitions remained among 
 the vulgar. Christianity came and collected the debris, 
 working them into her wider and deeper truths.' 
 
 ' And now ? ' 
 
 ' Now Christianity in this country, and in all Latin 
 countries, is going through the same phase as its pre- 
 cursor. The Roman Emperors created new deities in 
 order to conceal the weakness of the older ones, and to 
 maintain their own authority. The Roman Pontiffs create 
 new dogmas and people heaven with new inhabitants for 
 the same reason. And yet,' continued Monsignor Martini, 
 as if to himself, ' amid all the ambition and the worldli- 
 ness, behind all the symbolism and the superstition, there 
 shines the light of a Divine truth which even the theo- 
 logians have been unable wholly to extinguish.' 
 
 ' And it is that light which makes you cling to the 
 Church ? ' said Lord Redman, looking at him curiously. 
 
 ' Yes ; I do not wish to go out into the darkness,' 
 replied Monsignor Tvlartini. 
 
296 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'But the Church may drive you into it, Monsignore,' 
 observed Walter, smiling. 
 
 ' What do you call " the Church " ? ' 
 
 'Surely you admit but one — the body to which you 
 belong, and whose priest you arc ? I always understood 
 that the chief credential of the Roman Church was the 
 unity of faith to be found among her members.* 
 
 ' Yes,' interrupted Hilda ; ' and that is what perplexes 
 me at Rome, Monsignore. Is it possible that highly 
 educated ecclesiastics, and cultured men and women, 
 can believe in the religion of the people ? And if they 
 do not believe in it, why do they tolerate it, and wliy 
 does the Church encourage what appears to be a con- 
 tinuation of paganism ? Is there one religion for the 
 rich and another for the poor ? ' 
 
 ]\Ionsignor Martini sighed. 
 
 ' Unity of Faith is a misleading term. Unity of alle- 
 giance would better express the truth. There never has 
 been Unity of Faith from the time of the Apostles down- 
 wards. I am acquainted with Catholic priests, here in 
 Rome, who all but deny the divinity of Christ, and who 
 altogether deny such dogmas as the Immaculate Concep- 
 tion and Papal Infallibility. I know men and women 
 who are devoted Christians, and who utterly repudiate 
 the dogma of Transubstantiation. They are not true 
 Catholics, you say — and the Church says so likewise. 
 But the Church does not cast them out for what they 
 believe or disbelieve, so long as they do not oblige her 
 to do so. Do you suppose that Rome is not clever 
 enough to know her own weakness ? If you go among 
 our lower orders, you will find the same divergence of 
 
CASTING OF NETS 297 
 
 fiiith. Many believe with uiireusoiiin;^ enthusiasm all 
 that the Church teaches, and more. It is not so long 
 ago since thousands thronged a church in the centre of 
 Rome because a woman declared that a picture in that 
 church had moved its eyes. Do you suppose that these 
 were all Catholics in the Vatican's sense of the term? 
 I think that if you had questioned a dozen of those 
 people you would not have found three who agreed as to 
 their belief, and you might very easily have failed to find 
 one who could explain to you why he was a Catholic. 
 There is as much difference of religious opinion in the 
 Roman Church as in any other spiritual body, and the 
 Roman Church is perfectly aware of the fact.' 
 
 ^ But why, if' there are men and women in all classes, 
 and even ecclesiastics whose reason and intelligence cause 
 them to protest against certain dogmas and irrational 
 doctrines, does the Church crucify some and affect to 
 ignore the majority ? ' asked Walter. 
 
 Monsignor JNIartini smiled. 
 
 'My dear Lord Redman,' he replied, 'in Rome you 
 may think what you please — you may even speak your 
 thoughts aloud, so long as you do not do so in the pulpit. 
 But you must not commit them to print. That will not 
 surprise you, probably.' 
 
 ' But it does surprise me,' said Hilda. 
 
 ' Xo doubt, Lady Redman ; you are an English 
 Catholic, and you cannot yet realize that, in Rome, 
 politics take the precedence of religion. Your husband 
 will tell you that a (jovernment does not much care 
 what the individual opinions of its supporters may be 
 so long as the latter vote for it. That is the policy of 
 
298 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 the Vatican. It was the policy of the Palatine in the 
 days of our predecessors. We know that, in pagan 
 times, every thinking man had a religion of his own — 
 the gods were for the populace, which got what truth 
 out of them it could, and, no doubt, to countless in- 
 dividuals it was given to extract much truth. Unless 
 a cult were suspected of being inimical to the State, it 
 was ignored by the authorities. So in the Rome of 
 to-day, dogmas and doctrines are dealt out with a free 
 hand to the multitude ; superstitions, revived from ancient 
 times, are encouraged and bear financial fruit at a hundred 
 shrines of the Madonna and the Saints, as they did of old 
 at those of the goddesses and the gods. Disbelief and 
 dissent there may be, and disgust among the better 
 educated and the honest, but all will be tolerated except 
 the publishing of it.' 
 
 *And the people — those among the multitude who 
 never find the truth concealed amidst the superstition — 
 in what are they better than their pagan ancestors?' 
 asked Hilda. 
 
 ' In nothing, probably,' said her husband. 
 
 ' In much ! ' returned Monsignor Martini hastily. ^ The 
 Church has taught them, amongst much superstition, a 
 belief in the future life. The uneducated Christian has 
 a sense of personal responsibility to himself and to his 
 fellows which the uneducated pagan could seldom, if 
 ever, have possessed.' 
 
 'Yes,' said Walter thoughtfully, 'that is probably 
 true.' 
 
 'It is indisputably true,' replied Monsignor Martini, 
 fixing his soft brown eyes upon him. 'No man can 
 
CASTING OF NETS 299 
 
 have a proper sense of his rerti)onsibility in this world, 
 or of the dignity of human nature, unless he believes in 
 a future state ; and, exeept througli the medium of the 
 Chureh, how can he arrive at a clear understanding of 
 that state ? ' 
 
 * You speak as a Catholic priest,' said Walter. 
 
 ' No ; I speak as a Christian. You asked me a few 
 minutes ago what I called the Chureh, and I did not 
 answer your question. You assume that, because I am a 
 priest, I admit no Churcli outside the Roman comnmnion 
 to be a true Church.' 
 
 ' That is what the Roman Cliurch asserts,' said Walter. 
 
 ' The Roman Church,' replied ^lonsignor Martini slowly, 
 ^ asserts many things. For me there is only one Church — 
 that is perfectly true. But for me, again, every human 
 being who accepts the teaching of Christ belongs to that 
 Church. "Whosoever shall do the will of }Jy Father 
 that is in Heaven, he is i\Iy brotiier, and sister, and 
 mother."^ There is but one true Church, and of that 
 all are members who, in their different ways, and accord- 
 ing to their different lights, are scrWng their fellow- 
 creatures for the love of God.' 
 
 Walter Redman looked across the great plain which lay 
 beneath them. The sun was sinking down to the sea, and 
 all the western sky was aflame. A little later the Ave 
 Maria ^vould ring from the churclies, and the peasants 
 would leave their fields and vineyards and come up to 
 the villages, for the twilight is short in Italy, and when 
 once the sunset glow has faded, night sinks swiftly over 
 the land. 
 
 1 Monsignor Martini quotes from the Douai ti-anslation of the Vulgate. 
 
300 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' I beg your pardon, Monsignore/ he said, turning 
 suddenly to the priest. ^I misjudged you.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini smiled. 
 
 ^ Did you ? In what way, Lord Redman ? ' he asked. 
 
 ' I thought that, as a priest, you would not acknowledge 
 liberty of thought on questions of dogmatic belief 
 
 Monsignor Martini rose from his seat beneath the 
 olive-tree. 
 
 ' Dogma ! ' he said, a little impatiently. ^ We have too 
 much dogma and too little faith. Do you not think that 
 there are many of us who realize this and would say so, if 
 we dared ? ' 
 
 'Then you would imply that a man may be a Chris- 
 tian and yet not belong to any Church ? ' said Walter. 
 'And you would consider that man to be as good a 
 Christian \n the sight of God as though he were a 
 Catholic ? ' 
 
 'Most assuredly.' 
 
 'But he must believe in the great dogmas of Chris- 
 tianity ? ' 
 
 'He must believe and accept the teaching of Christ. 
 Dogmas were evolved from that teaching, but some of 
 them have little to do with it. Come, Lord Redman,' 
 added Monsignor Martini, 'we should be returning to 
 Albano. The sun has set, and it will be dark long before 
 we reach Rome.' 
 
 They had taken a little carriage for the day in Albano, 
 intending to drive back from the latter place to Rome in 
 the landau which Walter had hired for the months he and 
 Hilda were going to pass there. 
 
 ' I will walk on into Genzano and find our driver,' said 
 
CASTING OF NETS 301 
 
 Lord Redman to liis wife, ' if you and Mousignor Martini 
 will follow me.' 
 
 Hilda watched his tall figure striding away down the 
 white road. 
 
 * I have never heard ray husband talk to any ecclesiastic 
 as he does to you, Monsigiioro/ she said presently. ' I 
 am so very glad that he should do so. He always de- 
 clares that he has no religion, you know, but it is not 
 true.' 
 
 ' Nobody could be much in Lord Redman's company and 
 believe that he has no religion/ replied Monsignor Martini. 
 * He is one of the many people whom dogma has driven 
 into a feigned indifference.' 
 
 Hilda looked at him earnestly. 
 
 ' Do you really believe that one form of religion is as 
 true as another in the sight of God ? * 
 
 * I believe that God does not inquire whether we are 
 Romans, or Greeks, or Anglicans/ said Monsignor Martini, 
 with a smile. ^Your husband will never be a Catholic, 
 Lady Redman,' he added. ' I have had many conversa- 
 tions with him. He cannot believe all that would be re- 
 quired of him as a convert. I do not think you could 
 expect him to do so, neither should you allow the fact to 
 distress you.' 
 
 ^ It does not distress me/ replied Hilda. 
 
 Monsignor Martini directed a keen glance at her. He 
 was about to reply when a little carriage came round a 
 bend in the road. Walter had met it coming in search of 
 them, as they were nearly an hour later than the time fixed 
 upon to rejoin it at Gcnzano. 
 
 'Are you going to the Canonization in St. Peter's, 
 
302 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Monsignore ? ' asked Walter, as they were rattling over the 
 rough-paved road leading to Albano. 
 
 Monsignor Martini shook his head. 
 
 ^ No/ he said. ' I should not apply for a ticket. It 
 would certainly be refused me. I might, I believe, insist 
 upon taking my proper place in the Papal procession, 
 but ' and here he paused significantly. 
 
 ^ I wonder/ said Hilda, ^ whether you would come with 
 us ? We have three tickets which Cardinal Macchi gave 
 us. It would be so interesting to have you with us to 
 explain the ceremony.' 
 
 'I will come with pleasure,' said Monsignor Martini, 
 after hesitating for a moment or two. ^ It is a veiy curi- 
 ous ceremony/ he added, ' an interesting study of human 
 nature, and an imposing spectacle. You will feel how 
 greatly we are still under the influence of paganism. In- 
 stead of a Roman Emperor creating a minor deity, you will 
 see the Roman Pontiff creating a saint.' 
 
 'At any rate you will come with us?' said Walter. 
 ' I am not fond of ecclesiastical functions,' he added, 
 'as you have discovered. But it will be interesting to 
 see how saints are made. I am told by a French 
 friend of mine that the French candidate for celestial 
 honours is a decidedly political candidate. Is this so, 
 Monsignore ? ' 
 
 Monsignor Martini laughed. 
 
 'What is the advantage of possessing the keys of 
 heaven if the Vatican cannot use them to oblige a 
 friend?' he replied enigmatically. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 ONE afternoon, ;i few days after their excursion 
 among the Alban Hills, Hilda was writing letters 
 in the drawing-room of the villa in the Via Gaeta, while 
 Walter Redman was reading by the windows which 
 opened into the little garden partly surrounding the 
 house. The weather, for so late in the si)ring, was 
 unprecedentedly bad, as, indeed, it had been all the year. 
 The Romans grumbled at the Anno Santo, which, they 
 declared, was the cause of all the rain and the sclrocco 
 which had spoilt the beautiful Roman spring. Nothing 
 ever prospered in a Holy Year, they averred, and it would 
 be well if some ^reat disaster did not befall Rome and 
 Italy during its course. 
 
 Walter had just laid aside his book, and had proposed 
 a walk in spite of the weather, when a footman whom 
 they had brought with them from Abbotsbury entered 
 the room. 
 
 ' Mr. Russell wants to see you, my lord,' lie said. 
 
 'Mr. Russell!' exclaimed Walter, in astonishment. 
 'What ]\rr. Russell? Not the Rector?' 
 
 'Yes, my lord — the Rector. I have shown him into 
 your lordshi})'s sitting-room.' 
 
 ' Show him in here at once,' said Walter. ' What 
 brings him to Rome, I wonder?' he added as the man 
 
304 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 left the room. ^Did you know anything of their coming, 
 Hilda?' 
 
 *No/ answered the latter; 'I am amazed. I have 
 never heard from Mary since we left England. I have 
 written to her, but she has never replied. I wonder if 
 she is with him.' 
 
 The door opened, and the servant announced Mr. 
 Russell. 
 
 ' Why, Russell,' said Walter, ' this is a surprise. When 
 did you arrive in Rome ? ' 
 
 ^ Is Mary here ? ' asked Hilda. 
 
 They advanced to meet him with outstretched hands 
 of welcome, but a look on the Rector's face caused them 
 to pause hesitatingly. An expression of mental anguish 
 was reflected on Mr. Russell's usually calm and contented 
 countenance. 
 
 ^ Mary ! ' exclaimed Hilda. ' Something has happened 
 to her, Mr. Russell ? Is she ill ? I have been expecting 
 to hear from her for so long.' 
 
 Mr. Russell turned from her abruptly. 
 
 * Lord Redman,' he said, and his voice trembled with a 
 strongly-repressed emotion, * I understood that you were 
 alone. I did not wish to intrude upon Lady Redman.' 
 
 He spoke with a cold, studied politeness, which 
 caused Walter and his wife to look at each other with 
 astonishment. 
 
 'I will leave you and my husband alone together,' 
 Hilda said, a little stiffly. ^I was afraid that something 
 had occurred to distress you, and could only think that 
 perhaps Mary was ill. However, as it is only business 
 which has brought you here ' 
 
CASTING OK Nl/rS 305 
 
 Mr. Russell iiitcrniptcd her. 
 
 ' Plciisc rciiKiiii, L;uly KtMlinan,' he said coldly; M)ut 
 spare me any eiHiiiiries about luy wife.' 
 
 ' Good Cod, Russell ! ' exclaimed Walter, ' what do 
 you mean? What has happened to ]\Iary? She is 
 
 not ' lie hesitated, and then looked anxiously in 
 
 the Rector's face. 
 
 The latter laughed — a short, bitter laugh which was 
 unplcjusant to hear. 
 
 'Lady Redman has not told you?' he asked. * Well, 
 Lord Redman, I am glad of that. I am glad that you, 
 at least, arc ignorant of the matter ; that you have not 
 allowed this blow to fall upon me without having given 
 me a friendly word of warning. My business with you 
 need not detain us long. Lady Redman is no doubt 
 aware why I am in Rome, and I will leave it to her to 
 explain my presence here. Li the meantime, I wish to 
 notify to you my resignation of the living of Abbotsbury. 
 I have already informed the Bishop of my intention to 
 do so.' 
 
 Walter stared at him in bewilderment. There was 
 a great anger as well as grief in Mr. Russell's tones. 
 The man would not be so angry if his wife were dead. 
 Lord Redman reflected, and that iMary should have run 
 away from her husband was a thought which provoked 
 a smile. He knew few women more eminently staid and 
 respectable than his cousin, iNfary Russell. 
 
 He was about to reply when Hilda, who had moved 
 towards the door with the intention of leaving the 
 drawing-room, turned, and came slowly up to where 
 the Rector and her husband were standing. 
 
 20 
 
3o6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ^Mr. Russell/ she said quietly, ^perhaps you will 
 explain to us what you mean. Your words imply that 
 I am acquainted with some fact relating to Mary of 
 which my husband is in ignorance. Please understand 
 that, since leaving Abbotsbury, I have heard neither 
 from nor of her.* 
 
 Mr. Russell looked at her with an expression in which 
 incredulity and disgust were but ill-concealed. His hands 
 plucked nervously at a little gold cross which hung from 
 his watch-chain. 
 
 * I have no doubt. Lady Redman, that you are acting 
 a part which you conscientiously consider to be a right 
 one,' he replied. *Your priests have probably told you 
 to keep up the deception to the last, but, believe me, it 
 is quite unnecessary. You have succeeded in your task. 
 You have separated a husband and wife, and ruined a 
 happy home. You and your Church should be satisfied.' 
 
 Hilda grew very pale. 
 
 ' Once again, Mr. Russell,' she said with quiet dignity, 
 * I must ask you to explain yourself.' 
 
 * Does it need so much explanation ? Under the pre- 
 tence of friendship for my wife, have you not gradually 
 undermined her faith in her own Church? Have you 
 not worked upon her religious temperament, you, and 
 the priests to whom you sent her, until you succeeded in 
 convincing her that she was pleasing her God by deceiv- 
 inf^ her husband ? Well, what does it matter if the love 
 between a husband and a wife has been shattered, if all the 
 trust and all the sympathy of years has been broken and 
 destroyed ? You have made a convert for your Church -^ 
 the rest signifies nothing.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 307 
 
 Walter Ucdiiiaii turned to his wife. 
 
 * Hilda,' he said, in a low voiee, * is this true ? ' 
 
 * Yes,' continued Mr. Russell. ' God help me, it is 
 true ! I could have borne anything but the deception 
 of it, the cruelty of it. I am not a narrow-minded man, 
 Lady Redman ; I think you have cause to know that. 
 If you had allowed my wife to take me into her confi- 
 dence, your Church would have lost nothin<,^ ; it would 
 have gained my respect instead of my contempt for its 
 methods. If I had been convinced that Mary's happiness 
 and peace of mind depended upon her embracing your 
 creed, I would not have opposed her doing so in the 
 end, though I should have tried to reason with her 
 before the final step was taken. It was this of which 
 you were afraid — this, and a husband's affection. Your 
 Church boasts of crushing human affections, but you 
 might have had some little pity for me, Lady Redman. 
 I pitied you when I believed that you were distressed in 
 your mind, and all the time you were striving secretly 
 to separate my wife from me in this world and the next. 
 You may have been acting the part of a good Catholic — 
 I do not know — but, were you acting that of a good 
 Christian ? ' 
 
 Mr. Russell's voice broke suddenly. Sitting down, 
 he buried his face in his hands. 
 
 ' Hilda,' exclaimed Lord Redman — ' Hilda, let me 
 hear you say that he is mistaken. You have not done 
 this thing ; you could not do it. Russell,' he continued, 
 ' my wife is incapable of acting as you suppose. There is 
 some absurd mistake.' 
 
 Mr. Russell raised his head. 
 
3o8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 'There is no mistake/ he said dully. 'Mary used 
 to be very bitter about Roman Catholics. It was a 
 surprise to me that she ceased to be so shortly after 
 Lady Redman came to Abbotsbury, but I was glad that 
 her prejudices should be modified. I knew nothing, 
 suspected nothing. Just after Easter she went to Lon- 
 don, to pay a visit to her own relations. One morning 
 I received a letter from her, telling me that she had been 
 received into the Roman Catholic Church at the Oratory 
 the day before by a Father Galsworthy. She had been 
 " instructed," so she wrote, for some weeks, and had long 
 been contemplating the step. Her spiritual directors, 
 she told me, and others whom she had consulted, had 
 counselled her not to tell me of her intention until her 
 conversion was an accomplished fact. Nothing, she 
 declared — no earthly ties or human affection — could be 
 suffered to interfere between a Catholic and the Church. 
 I have not seen her since.' 
 
 ' You have not seen her since ? ' repeated Hilda. 
 
 ' No, Lady Redman, I could not. It is not that she has 
 changed her faith — God must be the Judge of that — but 
 it is the manner of her changing it, the dishonesty, the 
 heartless cruelty. Can a just action come out of so much 
 evil ? I suppose your priests believe that it can. Your 
 grandmother. Lady Merton, wrote to me. She told me 
 that God in His mercy had opened the eyes of my wife to 
 the truth, and had called her into His Church. Daily inter- 
 course with a Catholic, she said, had contributed to this 
 blessed result. That Catholic was, of course, yourself.' 
 
 ' What grounds have you for supposing so^ Mr. Russell ? ' 
 asked Hilda, 
 
CASTING OF NKTS 309 
 
 * Lady Morton's letters/ replied Mr. Uussell, * and other 
 evidence. Mary, too, does not deny that you were instru- 
 mentid in convertinj^ her. It would have been kinder to 
 warn nic, Liuly Redman. In her room I found controver- 
 sial books — books in which your name was written — 
 lent to her by you, she tells me in her letters. They were 
 hidden away, as though she had wished to keep their 
 existence in our house a secret.' 
 
 ' Where is she now ? ' asked Hilda. 
 Mr. Russell looked at her indignantly. 
 
 * AYhy need you keep up the comedy any longer ? ' he 
 answered bitterly. * You have probably seen her. She is 
 in Rome.' 
 
 * In Rome ! ' exclaimed Walter. 
 
 * Yes, in a retreat. So much I, her husband, am allowed 
 to know. No doubt you are acquainted with a certain 
 Father Remington in this town, Lady Redman. It appears 
 that, acting on Lady Merton's and Father Galsworthy's 
 suggestion, Mary came to Rome, and Lady Merton under- 
 took to find a ^* retreat," as she called it, for her, until — 
 as my wife was pleased to explain to me — Almighty God 
 should see fit to soften my anger against her. I was not 
 angry with her, poor child, but — well, when love and 
 trust are betrayed, it is a hard thing to bear ! Perhaps I 
 was ungenerous, but I wrote and told her not to return to 
 the Rectory just then ; I wanted to be alone. It was after 
 writing this to her that I received her letter saying she 
 should go to Rome ; and since then she has written to tell 
 me that she is here, in a " retreat " conducted by a certain 
 Father Remington, and that she hopes to benefit by the in- 
 dulgences of the Holy Year. But I do not know why I 
 
3IO CASTING OF NETS 
 
 am telling you things which you already know better than 
 1/ concluded Mr. Russell abruptly. 
 
 'Have you seen Lady Merton since you arrived in 
 Rome?' asked Hilda quietly. 
 
 She was filled with a great compassion for the Rector, 
 and, in her indignation at the manner in which his wife 
 had treated him, the fact that he regarded her as respon- 
 sible for his unhappiness seemed of little importance. 
 
 'No. I arrived this morning only. My duties at 
 Abbotsbury prevented my coming sooner.' 
 
 ' And why have you come, Mr. Russell ? ' 
 
 ' I have come for Mary,' he answered simply. ' I want 
 to explain to her that I am not angry. I was angry at 
 first that she should have listened to others, and have 
 lost her confidence in me. We must begin life afresh. I 
 cannot return to Abbotsbury.' 
 
 ' We will talk about that later on,' said Walter Redman 
 gently. ' In the meantime,' he added, ' you are under 
 the impression that Mary has been influenced by my 
 wife?' 
 
 ' How can I think otherwise ? Mary does not deny it. 
 Lady Merton has distinctly given me to understand that 
 Lady Redman's influence has caused her conversion ; and 
 I find further proofs of it among my wife's books.' 
 
 ' And if I deny it ? ' asked Hilda. 
 
 Mr. Russell made no reply. 
 
 ' Will you listen to me, Mr. Russell ? ' she continued, 
 after a pause. ' Hitherto I have listened to you with- 
 out attempting to defend myself. Will you believe me 
 when I tell you that the news of Mary having become 
 a Catholic is as great a surprise to me as it was to you ? 
 
CASTING OF NETS jii 
 
 It cannot be so great a shock, but, all the same, it is a 
 shock ; and I am more grieved U)r you than I can say.' 
 
 The Rector looked at her in silence, but it was evident 
 that he did not believe her. 
 
 * The books you found were mine,' she continued, ^ and I 
 lent them to her. When I iirst came to Abbotsbury we 
 used to talk about the difFerenecs in our religions, and 1 
 was astonished to find how greatly Mary was prejudiced 
 against the Roman Church, and how very ignorant she 
 was of its tenets. She used to tell mc the most absurd 
 thinirs of what she imaGrined that we believed. I lent her 
 those books at her own request. By degrees she ceased 
 to mention the subject to me, and I concluded that she 
 wished to avoid it. Afterwards,' and here Hilda glanced 
 at her husband, ^events happened which made me less 
 inclined than ever to discuss religious differences. I was 
 surprised to learn that ^lary had visited my grandmother 
 at Ware. I first heard of this visit from you ; Mary never 
 alluded to it. In fact, to be brief, I am absolutely inno- 
 cent of any attempt or desire to make Mary abandon the 
 Church of England, and I must decline to be held respon- 
 sible in any way for the action of other people. I think, 
 Mr. Russell, my husband will tell you that I am speaking 
 the trutli when I say that I strongly condemn any inter- 
 ference with the religious opinion of others, whether it 
 proceeds from Catholics or Protestants.' 
 
 ' Russell,' exclaimed Walter warmly, ' you must dismiss 
 from your mind any suspicion of my wife having been a 
 party to this business. She is incapable of it. Nobody 
 knows that better than I do. If you will reflect for a 
 moment, you will see what I mean.' 
 
312 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Mr. Russell hesitated. 
 
 ^ I would give much to believe it/ he said. ^ Lady 
 Redman and I have always been good friends, and the 
 feeling that she has known of all this from the beginning, 
 and has been the instigator of it, has made the blow a 
 harder one still to bear.' 
 
 * Mr. Russell/ said Hilda, * I declare to you upon my 
 honour that I have had no part, direct or indirect, in the 
 step Mary has taken, save the wholly innocent one of 
 having attempted to disabuse her mind of certain foolish 
 prejudices, and of having, at her own request, lent her 
 some books on the position of the Roman Church.' 
 
 Lady Redman spoke in clear, firm tones which carried 
 conviction with them. Mr. Russell looked at her keenly 
 for some seconds. 
 
 ' If I have misjudged you,' he said quietly, ^ I beg your 
 forgiveness, Lady Redman. I thought that zeal for your 
 Church had caused you to forget all other things. My 
 wife's letters to me are full of allusions to the duty of a 
 Catholic to give up, if necessary, all human affections for 
 the sake of Christ. She means for the sake of the Church 
 she has joined, but that is no matter. Submission and 
 obedience to the counsels of her confessor, Father Gals- 
 worthy, she assures me, made her keep all her intentions 
 secret from her husband until she had actually been 
 received into the Roman Catholic Church. I have read 
 that a wife should cleave unto her husband, and surely 
 she should not desert her husband's faith for another. 
 But you are a Catholic, Lady Redman. I cannot expect 
 you to sympathize with me. Your sympathies will be 
 with the soul which has been rescued to the Church.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 313 
 
 Hilda siuldenly biirRt into tears. 
 
 * It is hateful ! ' she exclaimed, struggling to regain the 
 mastery over herself. * Is there no truth or loyalty any- 
 where ? Does religion destroy honour ? Mr. Russell/ 
 she continued, with a little sob, * I abhor what your wife 
 has done. Do you understand me ? — I abhor it, and 
 those who have made her do it.' 
 
 Walter sprang to her side. 
 
 ' Hush, Hilda, hush ! ' he said. * Russell knows now 
 that you have no hand in it.' 
 
 Since her illness the year before he had not seen his 
 wife so excited. 
 
 *Get Mary away from those people,' she continued, 
 scarcely heeding him. ^ Get her away from them, or they 
 will make her destroy your happiness and her own, and 
 they will tell her that she is doing a righteous act. Do 
 you think they care for her soul or for yours ? They want 
 converts — money, numbers, to swell the influence of the 
 Church ! ' 
 
 ^ Hilda !' 
 
 ^ No, Walter ; let me speak ! I have thought so much 
 all these months — you do not know how much ! They 
 want you, Walter ; they cannot wait for your child. But 
 they shall have neither. I will not have my child — 
 your child — brought up a Catholic' 
 
 Walter Redman thought that he had never seen his 
 wife look so beautiful as at that moment. She stood 
 erect and defiant. Her tears had vanished, and a great 
 contempt shone in her eyes. Hilda's last words caused 
 a thrill to pass through him. The circumstances attend- 
 ing her illness had made him bitterly regret the conditions 
 
314 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 to which he had been obliged to agree at his marriage, 
 and which he had then so lightly pledged himself to 
 observe. The thought that Abbotsbury and his family 
 title and estates must in all probability pass into Cath- 
 olic hands in the future had haunted him of late with 
 unpleasant insistency, for his resentment at the conduct 
 of Lady Merton and the priests had been very deep, and 
 it was only for Hilda's sake that he had kept silence. 
 The birth of the still-born son had brought home to him 
 the gravity of the promise which he had made, and he 
 had often wondered how it was that he could no longer 
 feel the same indifference to the idea of his successor be- 
 longing to an alien faith. The voice which he had heard 
 in the old chancel at Abbotsbury had spoken the same 
 words to him many times since. By what right had he 
 pledged his successors to membership of a Church to 
 protect their country from whicli the dead of the race 
 he represented had suffered and fought? The promise, 
 once given, however, must be maintained, and Walter 
 Redman was too proud a man, and too loyal a gentle- 
 man, to think of not maintaining it. Hilda had married 
 him upon the condition that the children born to them 
 should be brought up Catliolics, and Catholics they must 
 be, unless their mother changed her faith. 
 
 'I will not have my child — your child — brought up a 
 Catholic' 
 
 The words rang in Lord Redman's ears as he looked at 
 his wife in silence. He had suspected her state since they 
 had been in Rome, but she had said no word of it to him. 
 
 Mr. Russell approached Hilda with outstretched hand. 
 
 ' Lady Redman,' he said in a low voice, ' I have done 
 
CASTING OF NETS 315 
 
 you a great wrong. Can you forgive me ? The trial has 
 been a very hard one, for though Mary and I must live to- 
 gether as man and wife, things can never be the same as 
 in the past. A broken confidence will always rise up be- 
 tween us. Thank God we have no children ! At least I 
 shall not have to witness a struggle for my children's 
 souls.' 
 
 Hilda took his hand with a faint smile. 
 
 * I have nothing to forgive,* she replied. * But, oh, I do 
 grieve for you, Mr. Russell! I cannot forgive Mary. 
 What she has done is no religious act, but one of utter 
 selfishness.' 
 
 ^ You must forgive INIary also,' said the Rector gently. 
 ^ We must remember that she believes her soul to be at 
 stake.* 
 
 ' Her soul ! ' exclaimed Hilda contemptuously. ' There 
 is nothing that people are so cruelly selfish about as their 
 souls. But, Mr. Russell, what can we do? You say 
 Mary is in a retreat conducted by Father Remington?' 
 
 ' Yes. Do you know him ? ' 
 
 ' No ; I have met him. He is a famous preacher, and 
 much sought after by the English converts here in Rome.' 
 
 'T must see my wife. Lady Redman,' said Mr. Russell. 
 ' I wish to leave her full liberty in her new religion, and 
 to do all I can that it should separate us as little as 
 possible. Of course, in my position as a clergyman, it is 
 most embarrassing. Mary's action is not only a moral blow 
 to me, but it is an insult to my ministry. I felt that I 
 must at once resign my charge at Abbotsbury, and ' 
 
 The door of the drawing-room opened, and one of the 
 Italian servants asked if their Excellencies received. 
 
3i6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' Who is it, Andrea ? ' asked Walter. 
 
 ^Miladi Merton, Eccellenza.' 
 
 Walter and Hilda looked at each other in dismay, and 
 then at Mr. Russell. 
 
 * No,' said Walter hurriedly to the footman ; ' say 
 that ' 
 
 ' I was sure that you would be at home on such a bad 
 afternoon. How are you, dear Hilda ? ' 
 
 Lady Merton had followed on the servant's heels, and 
 was already inside the room. She gave a slight start of 
 surprise on seeing Mr. Russell, but, recovering herself, she 
 made him a dignified bow and sat down in the arm-chair 
 by the side of which her grand-daughter was standing. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 WALTER was the first to break the constrained 
 silence which followed Lady Merton's entrance.* 
 His manner was dryness itself as he turned to her. 
 
 ' Your visit is opportune, Lady Merton,' he said ; ' it will 
 save Mr. Russell the trouble of calling upon you.' 
 
 The words were studiedly cold, and not altogether 
 polite, but Walter had difficulty enough in restraining the 
 indignation which was boiling within him. 
 Lady Merton gave a deprecatory little smile. 
 
 * I was not aware that Mr. Russell was in Rome/ she 
 remarked. 
 
 ' And I,' said Hilda, ' was not aware that Mrs. Russell 
 was here. Perhaps/ she added, ' you will explain to Mr. 
 Russell that I am in no way responsible for the deception 
 which has been practised upon him. He came here this 
 afternoon under the impression that I had brought about 
 his ^vife's conversion, if it can be called conversion.' 
 
 Lady Merton's eyes drooped. 
 
 * All, my dear Hilda,' she said, ' to some of us it is given 
 to sow the good seed unconsciously. I can quite enter into 
 Mr. Russell's fcclinjjs. But we will trust that Almifirhtv 
 God, in His own good time, will open his eyes to the 
 truth, and that he will profit by liis dear wife's example. 
 
3i8 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 In the meantime, she is willing and thankful to endure 
 persecution for the Church's sake.' 
 
 ^ No doubt/ exclaimed Mr. Russell ; ' but at whose 
 hands does she expect persecution, Lady Merton? Not 
 at her husband's, surely ! ' 
 
 ' You have refused to receive your wife back into your 
 house because she has become a Catholic, Mr. Russell,' re- 
 joined Lady Merton. ^ Is that not an act of persecution ? ' 
 
 The Rector looked at her in bewilderment. 
 
 ' I have refused to receive her back ! ' he repeated. 
 ' That is an absurd statement to make. May I ask. Lady 
 Merton, who has told you such an untruth ? ' 
 
 ' Your wife herself. She showed me your letter to 
 her. It was a cruel letter, Mr. Russell, but, alas ! we 
 converts are accustomed to encounter cruelty from those 
 who profess to care for us.' 
 
 Mr. Russell paced backwards and forwards up and 
 down the drawing-room. 
 
 ' If she has so misunderstood me,' he exclaimed, ' it 
 is time that I came to fetch her back. I only asked 
 for time — a few days, perhaps — to recover from the 
 shock I had received. Can you not understand, Lady 
 Merton? She is my wife! I have nobody but her in 
 this world, and now your Church has divided us— in 
 this world and the next. Oh ! it is not a bodily separa- 
 tion — that I know; but you have separated our souls. 
 You have destroyed confidence and trust. Can love 
 exist without them? Can there be a greater, a more 
 unending cruelty ? ' 
 
 *Not unending,' said Hilda softly; 'there will be no 
 Churches in the next world.' 
 
CASTING OF NETS 319 
 
 Lady Morton turned to licr indignimtly. 
 
 MIild:i!' she exclaimed; ^ arc you losing your faith? 
 Surely you must rejoice over Mrs. Russell's conversion ! 
 It was through you that she first became acquainted with 
 Catholic doctrine.' 
 
 ' Please do not try to fix the responsibility of Mrs. 
 Ilussell's conduct upon me,' replied Hilda coldly. ' I 
 entirely disapprove of a wife leaving her husband in 
 ignorance of such a matter as her change of faitli. If 
 Mary had been honest, she would have made no mystery 
 about it. Those who allowx'd her to act in such a 
 manner have much to answer for.' 
 
 Lady Merton shook her head sadly. 
 
 *Ah, my dear child, this comes of living with Pro- 
 testants! You have forgotten that virtue of obedience 
 which is the mark of a good Catholic. If Mrs. Russell 
 kept silence as to her intentions, it was because she was 
 directed to do so by her spiritual advisers. We are not 
 to be judges in such matters ; it is our duty to obey. 
 As I say, I feel for Mr. Russell. No doubt, to a Pro- 
 testant like himself it appears an unnecessary hardship 
 to be excluded from his wife's confidence in spiritual 
 matters ; but he must learn that human affections cannot 
 be allowed to impede the work of the Church. In this 
 instance, what appears to Mr. Russell to be a cruelty is 
 iu reality a kindness. The knowledge of his ^\^fe's impend- 
 ing conversion could only have led to painful discussions 
 between him and her. Father Galsworthy ver\' rightly 
 wished to spare both his penitent and her husband any 
 superfluous trials or difficulties. Mr. Russell must sub- 
 mit himself to the will of God, and pray that to him also 
 
320 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 may be vouchsafed the grace which has been bestowed 
 upon his wife.' 
 
 ' It appears to me/ said Lord Redman dryly, * that God 
 has very little to do with the business.' 
 
 Lady Merton darted a look of angry contempt at 
 him. 
 
 ' As you do not believe in Him, my dear Walter/ she 
 replied, ' you are hardly competent to judge.' 
 
 'I understand that my wife is at present in retreat, 
 Lady Merton,' said Mr. Russell. 
 
 He spoke very calmly, and with a quiet dignity of 
 manner. 
 
 'Yes,' replied Lady Merton. 'Father Remington is 
 conducting a retreat at this moment. A most holy 
 man!' she added. 'I am sure that Mrs. Russell will 
 emerge from it having gained fresh strength and cour- 
 age to encounter the trials and difficulties which she 
 may be called upon to bear for her religion's sake.' 
 
 Mr. Russell looked at her quietly. 
 
 'Those trials and difficulties will not come from me,' 
 he said. 'I, like Father Remington, am a priest of 
 Christ's Church, Lady Merton. If my wife has for- 
 gotten this, I do not forget it. Perhaps you will tell 
 her so. Tell her also that I am in Rome, waiting for 
 her to return to me.' 
 
 Lady Merton seemed as though she were about to 
 reply, but she contented herself with bowing stiffly. 
 
 * No doubt you would like to see Mrs. Russell ? ' she 
 said, turning to Hilda. 'Under the circumstances, a 
 visit would probably be permitted.* 
 
 ' No,' replied Hilda ; ' I have no wish to see Mrs. 
 
CASTING OF NKIS 321 
 
 Russell until she lias returned to lier proper plaee by 
 her hushimd's side. Please tell her so,' 
 
 Lady JNlerton looked from one to the other of them 
 with aggrieved astonishment. 
 
 ' It is so sad,' she nun-mured, * to find such intolerance 
 — so very sad! Hut we Catholics are proud to be per- 
 secuted for our ijord's sake. As for you, Hilda,' she 
 continued, ' I am distressed beyond words at your atti- 
 tude. Instead of standing by your friend JMrs. Russell, 
 you hold aloof from her. You, a Catholic, deny your 
 help and sympathy to one who has sacrificed nmch for 
 the Church's sake.' 
 
 * She has indeed sacrificed much/ exclaimed Hilda, 
 with scarcely repressed indignation. ^ She has sacrificed 
 truth and honour, and a husband's happiness, at the 
 bidding of those who move heaven and earth to make 
 one proselyte, even if that proselyte be a weak woman. 
 Well, if this is religion, I have no sympathy with it. 
 I ' 
 
 Mr. Russell interposed. 
 
 * Lady Redman,' he said gently, ' do not allow your 
 
 compassion for me to lessen your faith. We must make 
 
 allowances for the opinions of others, however nmch we 
 
 may disagree with them. After all, we are all of us 
 
 Christians. I have no right to speak to you, for I am not 
 
 of your Church ; but, thank God ! the Church of England 
 
 teaches tolerance, and shall I, her minister, not practise 
 
 it ? Lady ^Merton, I hope, will believe that I shall not 
 
 persecute my wife for Christ's sake, however much I may 
 
 grieve over what I hold to be a terrible error on her part. 
 
 But you, Lady Redman, I would not have you shaken in 
 
 21 
 
322 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 your faith by things in which, as your husband said a few 
 minutes ago, God has no part.' 
 
 Lady Merton rose from her seat. 
 
 ' I shall leave you to benefit by your Protestant sur- 
 roundings, Hilda,' she said scornfully. ^ I cannot remain 
 in your house to hear our holy religion insulted. Ours, 
 did I say ? I should rather have said mine ; for, whatever 
 you may be, Hilda, you are no longer a Catholic. Poor, 
 misguided child ! has not the warning of God's anger 
 which you have so recently received been sufficient for 
 you?' 
 
 * One moment, Lady Merton ; we shall not detain you 
 long.' 
 
 Walter Redman suddenly broke the silence which he 
 had maintained. 
 
 ^ You are very ready to take God into partnership,' he 
 said. * Let me assure you that the warning to which you 
 allude has been more than enough for my wife — and for 
 myself. Your zeal for proselytism nearly cost Hilda her 
 life. It did cost the life of her child. You need not be 
 at all uneasy, for we shall scarcely fail to profit by your 
 warning — indeed, I believe that Hilda has profited by it 
 already.' 
 
 *I do not know what you mean, Walter/ said Lady 
 Merton loftily. 'But I do know that since you have 
 married my grand-daughter you have systematically 
 endeavoured to undermine and destroy her faith. In 
 England you have surrounded her with agnostics like 
 Mr. Shirley, and here in Rome you have thrown her 
 with people whose acquaintance good Catholics seek 
 to avoid. How far such conduct on your part is honour- 
 
CASTING OF Nt/rs 323 
 
 able, and consistent with the promises you made at your 
 marriage, 1 leave to your conscience to decide.' 
 
 ' It is nut true!' exclaimed Hilda indignantly. 'You 
 have no right to say such things. Walter has been loyal, 
 and more than loyal, to his word. It is you, and those 
 about you, who have done your best to destroy my faith. 
 My luisband has never told you this, but now 1 will tell 
 you, and perhaps you will understand. It was I who 
 asked him to protect me from you, and from those whom 
 you had set to try to terrorize me into doing what you 
 wished. Thank God, my ffiith in His goodness and my 
 love for my husband have been strong enough to vanquish 
 the superstitious fears upon which you tried to work. 
 Walter is right: you nearly killed me, among you, and 
 you did kill my child — his child. You would have had 
 me break my promise to him without scruple — the promise 
 you urged me to give, making me believe that my future 
 husband was certain to become a C^atholic, and that it 
 was all a mere matter of form to facilitate our marriai^e. 
 You meant me to make him become a Catholic, because 
 his conversion would add to the Church's influence, and 
 you would not have cared had Walter been another 
 Wearmouth ; you would have encouraged me to marry 
 him all the same.' 
 
 ^ Hilda ! ' exclaimed her husband. ' What are you 
 saving ? ' 
 
 ' Walter, I will speak ! ' she continued impetuously. 
 * I am weary and sick of the falseness, the pretence 
 of religion, where there is nothing but ambition and 
 worldliness, the mad desire to extend the influence of 
 the Church at all costs, the use of Almighty God to 
 
324 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 frighten the weak, as nurses conjure up a bogey with 
 which to frighten naughty children. And now you 
 have made another convert ; and in what way ? By 
 encouraging a wife to deceive her husband, by ruining 
 a home, by breaking the heart of a good man.' 
 
 Hilda stopped. She was breathing rapidly and her 
 eyes flashed indignantly upon Lady Merton. The latter 
 looked at her grand-daughter with an expression of 
 stunned amazement on her face, which presently disap- 
 peared before her rising anger. 
 
 ' I hope you are satisfied with the result of your efforts 
 to destroy your wife's faith,' she said to Walter bitterly. 
 ^ This is the natural consequence of associating with so- 
 called Liberal Catholics like the Brancaleone, and un- 
 worthy priests like Monsignor Martini. I will not dwell 
 upon the ingratitude which both of you are showing 
 towards me. Every word which you have uttered, Hilda, 
 tells me but too plainly that what we have all dreaded 
 for you has come to pass. You are no longer a Catholic. 
 You have allowed an earthly affection to blind you to 
 your duty towards the Church. You have lost your 
 faith.' 
 
 There was a moment's pause as Lady Merton ceased 
 speaking. Hilda's face quivered with an emotion which 
 she was determined to control. Almost unconsciously 
 she crossed the room to her husband and stood by his 
 side. 
 
 ^ I think,' she replied gently, ' that I have found it.' 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 HILDA had kept the fact that she expected again 
 to become a mother very carefully to herself. 
 Had it not been for the agitation which the discovery of 
 Mary Russell's clandestine conversion had caused her, 
 she would probably have allowed a few more weeks to 
 pass before acquainting Walter with what had now passed 
 from a hope into a certainty. 
 
 Since she had been in Rome many influences had been 
 at work in her mind. She had come to the fountain-head 
 of her religion believing that she should be strengthened 
 in her faith, and anxious to assure herself that here at 
 least she should recover the respect for the Church which 
 the events of the last few months had so severely tried. 
 
 But from the day on which she first entered St. Peter's 
 her disappointment had become ever greater, her dis- 
 satisfaction more complete. 
 
 This was not the Rome she had so often imagined in 
 the days of her girlhood at Cawarden, the Holy City 
 ^vhcre the Vicar of Christ watched over the needs of 
 the Churcli, and where men should feel themselves as 
 standing at the threshold of heaven. 
 
 Being, as Mr. Shirley had said of her, a woman who 
 thought. Lady Redman had quickly realized that what- 
 ever Roman Catholicism might be in England, at Rome 
 
326 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 it was far less of a religious than a political power, and it 
 had not taken her long to discover that the ^ exaltation 
 of our Holy Mother the Church' signified in reality the 
 furtherance of the social and political aims of the Vatican. 
 The circumstances under which she had made her first 
 acquaintance with Rome had contributed in no slight 
 degree towards enabling Hilda to penetrate the artificial 
 surface which masks the most complicated, and possibly 
 the most powerful, political institution of modern times. 
 The fact of her being by birth a member of an old Cath- 
 olic family in England, and grand-daughter to Lady Mer- 
 ton, whose name was as a household word among the 
 Black society of the capital, had given her the entrance 
 not only into the houses of the English-speaking convert 
 society, of which her grandmother was an acknowledged 
 leader, but also into that more exclusive world of the 
 genuine Romans belonging to the clerical party who 
 afiected to ignore the existence of the Quirinal and the 
 Government, and to regard the Vatican as the Court and 
 the centre of authority. On the other hand, her marriage 
 with the Protestant head of a well-known English house 
 had opened to her other doors than those of the narrow 
 and bigoted society in whose midst she would certainly 
 have found herself, and into which the English Roman 
 Catholic, on first coming to Rome, usually drifts. She 
 had not been slow to seize the opportunity of escaping 
 from Lady Merton's entourage, and Walter's absolute 
 refusal, after his first experiences, to enter it, had greatly 
 facilitated her emancipation from the social and moral 
 nets which are carefully woven to prevent the novice at 
 Rome from falling under Liberal influences. 
 
CASTING OF NKTS 327 
 
 Of all the ac(iiiaint;uiccs bIic liail made at Home, Hilda 
 undoubtedly preferred the Princess Hrancaleone antl Con- 
 signor Martini. These, indeed, had become more than 
 ac(iuaintances, and Hilda regarded them both as friends to 
 whom she could talk unrestrainedly. Princess Branca- 
 leono, with her ready sympathies, had (juickly discovered 
 that Lady Redman was both puzzled and disappointed 
 by what she saw around her. As an Englishwoman, 
 married to one of the most important of the Roman 
 princes, she had frequently to receive compatriots who 
 were recommended to her good offices by friends in Eng- 
 land. As a rule, however, she found that they preferred 
 beins: left to their hotel life and to their Endish tea- 
 parties, their one idea being to see as little of Italian 
 life as they could, in order, possibly, to feel more free to 
 abuse the Italians. She had made up her mind the first 
 nidit on which the Redmans dined at the Palazzo Mon- 
 telupi that they were not people to ask to dinner once 
 and then relegate to the limbo of the English colony. 
 Princess Brancaleone was nothing if not a woman of the 
 world, and it had not escaped her that Lady Redman, 
 instead of sitting alone in a corner with an expression of 
 superiority and disapproval, as did most of her English 
 guests, was always surrounded by a grouj) of people who 
 were evidently pleased to meet her. Lord Redman, too, 
 instead of standing awkwardly near a door, speaking to 
 nobody and looking unutterably bored, was able to talk 
 in other tongues besides his own, and to talk well. Tlic 
 consequences had been that the Princess and her husband 
 had compared notes, and the Redmans from that day 
 became frequent guests at the Palazzo ^lontelupi, and 
 
328 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 at the dinners which thej were perpetually giving during 
 the Roman season. It was here that Hilda and Walter 
 met all the most interesting people of the capital. The 
 Princess had no sooner discovered that they were anxious 
 to see the true life of Rome, and that the foreign colony 
 bored them, than she exerted herself to make them ac- 
 quainted with those men and women who were forming 
 the history of their day in Italy and elsewhere. 
 
 Princess Brancaleone's salon was not only cosmopolitan, 
 but it was also one in which talent was welcomed as an 
 honoured guest, and birth had sometimes to be content 
 with the second place. 
 
 The letters which she had received from her old friend 
 Mr. Shirley concerning Lord and Lady Redman had 
 increased the interest which she already felt in them. 
 He had given her more than one hint as to how matters 
 stood between Walter and his wife, and the Princess, 
 though her acquaintance with Lady Merton was of the 
 slightest nature, was well aware of the latter's mania for 
 proselytism, and both distrusted and disliked the set by 
 which she was surrounded in Rome. 
 
 She had not been surprised, therefore, when Hilda had 
 talked of her disappointment at finding political animos- 
 ities where she had expected to find religion ; malice and 
 evil-speaking where Christian charity ought to have 
 reigned. Possessing, as she did, a clue to Hilda's char- 
 acter, and a tolerably correct idea of the difficulties with 
 which she had to contend. Princess Brancaleone was able 
 to guess at the spirit which prompted many of her 
 remarks. 
 
 She had hardly known how to reply when Hilda had 
 
CASTING OF NETS 329 
 
 sometimes asked what she should have done had Prince 
 Brancalcone been a Protestant, and wlicthcr she would 
 have tried to convert him. She herself had come to 
 Rome a sincere though liberal-minded Catholic, but a 
 few years passed under the shadow of the Vatican had 
 caused her to relinquish all attempts to believe in its 
 spirituality. Both her husband and she had suffered too 
 deeply from the vindictive spite of the clerical party, from 
 whose ranks Prince Brancalcone, for patriotic motives 
 and from a sense of disgust at the degrading effects of 
 the policy of the Church upon the people, had separated 
 himself. 
 
 The Princess had tried to parry Hilda's questions by 
 pointing out that, at Rome, it was the custom for a 
 husband and wife to be at least nominally of the same 
 faith, and that had she not already been a Catholic when 
 she married the Prince, she would have been obliged to 
 become one. 
 
 ' It would have been much simpler,' Hilda had observed, 
 *if I had become a Protestant when I married Walter. 
 A wife ought certainly to belong to the same religion as 
 her husband.' 
 
 Hilda had been deeply shocked and disgusted at the 
 deception and dishonesty which had attended Mary 
 Russell's conversion. She had adhered to her deter- 
 mination not to see Mrs. Russell until the latter had 
 returned to her husband. When she did see her, after 
 she emerged from her * retreat,' she soon discovered that 
 Mary was as violently Catholic as she had once been 
 anti-Catholic. She had adopted the aggressive attitude 
 which she had learned from those Avho had brouorht about 
 
330 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 her change of faith. Mrs. St. Leger had, so to speak, 
 appropriated the new convert for her own, and already 
 she and Madame de Hohenthal had whispered tales of 
 Mr. Russell's persecution of his wife and accounts of the 
 trials which she was undergoing for the Church's sake 
 into the ears of ready sympathizers. 
 
 From the bottom of her heart Hilda pitied the Rector, 
 and admired him for his generous and dignified attitude 
 under circumstances so trying and painful. Of his own 
 feelings, since the day when he had come to Rome and 
 told them of the blow which had fallen upon him, he had 
 never spoken either to Hilda or Lord Redman, but both 
 could read in his face the sorrow and mortification through 
 which he was passing. Strangely enough, it was from 
 Monsignor Martini that Mr. Russell appeared to derive 
 the most consolation and support. The two had met in 
 the Via Gaeta on several occasions, and Walter Redman 
 had told the Monsignore the story of the Rector's 
 troubles. Lord Redman was greatly impressed by the 
 way in which the latter took his trials, and said so to 
 the priest. 
 
 ' Ah ! ' Monsignor Martini had replied, ' that man is 
 not a Protestant or a Catholic; he is simply a good 
 Christian. He is suffering horribly, wounded alike in 
 his love for his wife and in his religious convictions. 
 I believe that he feels the slight cast upon his ministry 
 more than he does the betrayal of the trust which should 
 exist between husband and wife.' 
 
 The date fixed for the Redmans' departure from Rome 
 was fast approaching. They had abandoned their original 
 idea of going to Naples. Tliere had been so much to 
 
CASTING OK NETS 331 
 
 occupy their days in Rome that Ilikla had felt unwilling 
 to leave it, and she and Walter were both desirous of 
 seeing the great ceremony of the Canonization of Saints 
 which w\is to take place in St. Peter's, and form the chief 
 among the ecclesiastical spectacles of the Anno Santo. 
 
 Hilda had duly received the three tickets to be present 
 at the ceremonial which had been promised to her, and 
 slie and her husband had arranged to call for Monsignor 
 Martini on their way to the basilica. 
 
 By the time they arrived at St. Peter's, an enormous 
 crowd had assembled, and those who possessed tickets 
 were endeavouring to make their way through it, in 
 order to reach the doors of the church. Companies 
 of the soldiers of United Italy were drawn up in the 
 piazza and at the entrance to the basilica, their patience 
 and courtesy contrasting favourably with the ill-manners 
 and selfishness displayed by the Seminarists and pilgrims 
 who at intervals made futile attempts to break through 
 the military cordon, hustling and ill-treating women and 
 children in their mad impatience to enter the building, 
 and insulting the Italian soldiers when the latter were 
 ordered by their officers to close up and make them await 
 their turn to pass on. 
 
 At length the carriage which conveyed Lord and Lady 
 Redman and jMonsignor Martini reached the sacristy, for 
 which ingress their tickets w^ere available, and a few 
 minutes afterwards they found themselves inside the great 
 church. The building was completely transformed. The 
 marble columns and pillars WTrc draped with red damask. 
 The window^s were covered, and from the roof hung 
 innumerable candelabra, blazing with wax candles, while 
 
332 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 over the apse was the gloria of the newly-made saints — 
 a painting representing their miracles — surrounded by 
 rays of electric light from countless lamps. In front, 
 opposite the High Altar, rose the Papal throne, and to 
 right and left of it were the seats for the Sacred College 
 of Cardinals, the Archbishops, Patriarchs, and high 
 ecclesiastical dignitaries of the Papal Court. Behind 
 these, again, were the tribunes reserved for the foreign 
 Sovereigns and royalties, the Diplomatic Corps accredited 
 to the Holy See, the Roman patriciate and high officials 
 of the Vatican, and immediately to the right of the throne 
 were the posts of the Grand Master and Knights of 
 the Sovereign Order of Malta. Behind the Confes- 
 sional of St. Peter, in the body of the church, rose 
 the vast tribunes devoted to the pilgrims, the secular 
 and regular clergy of Rome, the Seminarists, and the 
 public ; and in the centre a broad space, patrolled by 
 chamberlains and soldiers of the Swiss and Palatine 
 Guards, was kept clear for the passing of the Papal 
 procession. 
 
 The organization for the handling of the many thousands 
 of people assembled in St. Peter's was admirable, and, once 
 inside the church, the Redmans and Monsignor Martini 
 were able to find their seats without delay. There was 
 yet more than an hour to elapse before the time fixed for 
 the commencement of the ceremony, and Monsignor Mar- 
 tini had warned Hilda that Leo XIII. was invariably 
 unpunctual. 
 
 ' In that,' he observed, with a twinkle in his eyes, ' the 
 Pope is a true Italian.' 
 
 Hilda occupied herself with looking at the brilliant spec- 
 
CASTING OF NETS ^^3 
 
 tacic wliich the great basilica i^rcscnted. The pompous 
 vulgarity of the interior of the church had given place to 
 an effect even less suitable to a sacred edifice. The hang- 
 ings and the draperies, the glass chandeliers, and the de- 
 vices of electric light, gave her the impression of being in 
 some colossal nuisic-liall, or in an opera house prei)ared, 
 with doubtful taste, for a giUa rei)resentati()n. From the 
 tribune in which their seats were situated the statue of St. 
 Peter was plainly visible. A mitre had been placed on the 
 bronze head of the figure, and a rich, bejewelled cope hung 
 stiffly from its shoulders, an offence to the art of the 
 sculptor. 
 
 Monsignor Martini watched Hilda's countenance. 
 
 ' You have come to witness a pagan ceremony in Chris- 
 tian dress,' he said in a low voice, as he followed her gaze 
 and saw that it was fixed upon the grotesque figure sup- 
 posed to represent the chief of the Apostles. ' I have al- 
 ways thought,' he added, ' that statue, when robed in the 
 pontifical vestments, to be typical of our Roman faith and 
 system, the pagan form clothed with the emblems of Chris- 
 tian sacerdotalism.' 
 
 As the hour at which the Pope was expected to make 
 his entry into the basilica approached, the scene increased 
 in brilliancy and animation. The clash of steel resounded 
 as the Papal Guards presented arms to the ambassadors 
 and ministers accredited to the Holy See, who arrived in 
 quick succession, followed by their staffs, their uniforms 
 blazing with stars and orders. Then a gleam of scarlet and 
 white flashed through the ranks of black-veiled women 
 and men clad in their evening dress, as the Grand ^faster 
 of ^lalta, received with sovereign honours, and his at ten- 
 
334 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 dant knights, were escorted to the places reserved for the 
 Order. Suddenly a quiver of excitement ran through the 
 church, and the great mass of human beings seemed to 
 sway and heave like the swell of the sea. Cries of ^ Viva 
 il Papa-Re ! ' were raised by fanatical Seminarists and 
 Ultramontanes, to be hushed down by those standing 
 around them, for it had been notified that the Pope did 
 not on this occasion wish to be greeted by the cheers and 
 plaudits which, since the fall of the temporal power of the 
 Papacy, usually accompany his appearance in St. Peter's. 
 Then the tempestuous movement of the crowd subsided, 
 and the murmurs died away into an oppressive silence. 
 Every head was turned towards the great doors of the 
 portico, by which the Papal procession was to enter. 
 
 Presently the strains of distant chanting fell upon the 
 ears of the listening multitude, faintly audible and con- 
 fused at first, but gradually growing louder and more 
 distinct. A glimmer of candles slowly advancing marked 
 the approach of the procession preceding that of the Papal 
 Court which escorted the Pontiff himself. Two by two 
 the Regular Clergy entered the basilica — first those of 
 the Mendicant Orders, the Augustinians, Capuchins, Fran- 
 ciscans, Carmelites, Dominicans, and many more ; and 
 following these the Monastic Orders — the Olivetans, 
 Benedictines, Cistercians ; the Canons of St. John Lateran, 
 the Cathedral Church of Rome, bringing up the rear. 
 
 Preceded by a cross-bearer and two acolytes, there fol- 
 lowed in endless array the parish priests and Vicars of 
 Rome ; behind these came the Canons and dignitaries of 
 the collegiate churches and basilicas, with the secular 
 clergy attached to them ; and at their head the Cardinal- 
 
CASTING OF NKTS ^35 
 
 Vicar of the Eternal City and ofTicials of the CUiria. Slowly 
 the lonj; procession advanced up the centre of the basilica, 
 each member of it carryin*; a li<,Hited candle in his hand. 
 Uoligious confraternities, with their banners, and person- 
 a<;cs belun«,'in^ to the families and Keli.<;i(jus Orders of 
 those about to be canonized, formed the rearicuard of this 
 army of clerics. 
 
 A pause, and the hynm Ave Maris Stella echoed 
 through the church, sung by the Papal choir, who entered 
 heralding the coming of the Pope. Following them were 
 two of the Swiss Guard in full uniform, and a pontifical 
 Master of the Ceremonies. Then, two and two walked 
 the Papal Chamberlains, the Pope's confessor and domestic 
 preacher, and his chaplains bearing the triple crowns and 
 jewelled mitres of the Head of Christendom, while imme- 
 diately after these came, in right of his office, the jeweller 
 to the Papal Court. 
 
 Next in order advanced the high ecclesiastics of the 
 United Greek Rite, a deacon bearing aloft the Papal 
 Cross, surrounded by seven dignitaries acting as acolytes 
 and carrying seven candelabra with burning and richly- 
 ornamented candles. Before the penitentiaries of the 
 Vatican basilica walked two priests, holding long rods 
 adorned with flowers, emblematic of the power of the 
 former to chastise consciences and to temper chastisement 
 with mercy. 
 
 'I notice,' said Walter Redman, as the group passed 
 them and Monsignor Martini explained the meaning of the 
 rods, ' that the flowers are sham.* 
 
 Monsignor Martini gave him a quick glance of anmse- 
 ment, but he did not reply. 
 
236 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 And now the cortege assumed a character of majestic 
 brilliancy. In bewildering succession came the Abbots- 
 General, the Bishops, Archbishops, Primates and Patri- 
 archs, and following them the three grades of the Sacred 
 College of Cardinals. 
 
 The strains of the Ave Maris Stella sound ever louder 
 and clearer, and from the trumpets posted above the en- 
 trance ring out the notes of the Papal March. 
 
 The Prince- Assistant to the throne, chief of the ancient 
 House of Colonna, and the Vice-Chamberlain of the Holy 
 Church, advance alone, followed by the Apostolic notaries, 
 and then two Cardinal-Deacons and the Cardinal-Priest 
 whose office it is to assist the Pope at the Mass celebrated 
 immediately itfter the formal declaration of canonization. 
 After these walk the Masters of Ceremonies. 
 
 And then from beneath the portico slowly emerges a 
 group more brilliant than all the rest, and raised high 
 above it a figure of dazzling whiteness. The frail, bent 
 body sits on the Sedia Gestatoria bowed down beneath 
 the weight of the rich vestments, and the triple tiara, 
 blazing with jewels, crowns the snow-white head. It is 
 an imposing figure, and a very pathetic one. 
 
 Slowly and evenly the raised throne with its white 
 occupant seems to glide through the kneeling throng, 
 and the Pope passes, holding in his left hand a lighted 
 candle, while his right arm is upraised in blessing, and 
 the long, trembling fingers make the sign of the cross over 
 the prostrate people. Every now and then Leo XIII. 
 leans back as though exhausted, and those who do not 
 know the Pope wonder if he is about to succumb under 
 the physical and mental strain. But the keen eyes never 
 
CASTING OF NETS 337 
 
 lose their intensity, and seem to pierce tlie fnrtliest re- 
 cesses of the vast church. The smile, wliicli is no smile, 
 is always there, and <:ji\'es an impression of benevolence 
 belied by the harsh lines of the mouth, and the stern, im- 
 perious glance which gleams from under the white brow. 
 
 Around the Pope walk with drawn swords the officers 
 of the Noble (^uard, while beside the Sedia Gestatoria 
 are borne the great ostrich-feather fans, and behind it 
 arc the Papal physician and other officers of the Apos- 
 tolic household. Behind these, again, walk a body of 
 choral chaplains chanting the * Star of the Sea/ and 
 the magnificent procession is closed by the Generals of 
 the Religious Orders. 
 
 Contrary to the usual practice when the Pope descends 
 in St. Peter's, a halt is not made at the Chapel of the 
 Blessed Sacrament for the Pontiff to pray before the 
 Host. The Vicegerent of God, with the keys of heaven 
 in his hand, passes triumphantly on his way to his throne, 
 and the nations gathered together in St. Peter's bow down 
 in reverence before the human being who is about to open 
 the gates of heaven and to increase the company of the 
 Saints. 
 
 With stately pomp and circumstance, tlie Papal cortege 
 moves up the church, and in front of the altar of the Con- 
 fessional the Sedia Gestatoria is gently lowered to the 
 ground. The Pope descends from it, and with rapid, 
 uneven strides advances to a golden faldstool, at which 
 he kneels for a few moments in prayer ; then rising, he 
 ascends the steps of the throne and seats himself upon it. 
 
 The Cardinals advance one by one and kiss his hand ; 
 the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops and Bishops pay 
 
 22 
 
338 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 their homage by kissing the cross on the stole, the ends 
 of which rest on the Pontiff's knees ; the Ahhota-nuUms 
 and the Abbots-General kiss his foot. Then the dignita- 
 ries of the church resume their places, and the formalities 
 of the making of Saints commence. 
 
 The Cardinal-Procurator of the canonization advances 
 towards the throne, supported by a Master of Cere- 
 monies, and a consistorial advocate. Kneeling before 
 the Pope, he petitions the latter instanter that the 
 candidates for canonization may be inscribed by His 
 Holiness among Christ's Saints, and that they may be 
 venerated as Saints by all the faithful. 
 
 The Secretary of Briefs, standing on the steps of the 
 throne, replies for the Pope in Latin. He informs the 
 Cardinal-Procurator that the virtues and merits of the 
 proposed candidates are known to the Holy Father, as 
 also are the miracles performed by them. Before, how- 
 ever. His Holiness can pronounce upon a matter of such 
 gravity, he exhorts ail present to implore that the Divine 
 aid may be vouchsafed to him through the intercession 
 of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the holy Apostles Peter and 
 Paul, and the Celestial Court. The Cardinal-Procurator 
 returns to his seat. The Pope kneels once more at the 
 faldstool before the altar while the Litany of the Saints 
 is chanted. 
 
 At the close of the Litany, His Holiness returns to the 
 throne, and the Cardinal-Procurator advances with the 
 same ceremony, and repeats his petition, substituting for 
 the word instanter the comparative term instantius. 
 
 The Secretary of Briefs replies that His Holiness, 
 realizing the importance and greatness of the act which 
 
CASTING OF NKTS 339 
 
 he is about to perform, implores the help of the Holy 
 Ghost, the soiiree of illumiiiJitioii Jind of wisdom. 
 
 The Pope, assuminjj; the mitre, kneels before the altar, 
 while the first Assisting Cardinal-Deacon says in a loud 
 voice : ^ Orate.' Removing the mitre, the Pope prays 
 while the Miserere is being sung, only rising from his 
 knees when the second Cardinal- Deacon exclaims: ' Lc- 
 vatc.' All present rise with the Pope. Two J^ishops 
 approach him with book and candles, and he intones 
 the Veni Creator Spirltus. At the close of the hymn 
 the Pope resumes his seat on the throne, and the solemn 
 moment of ratification of the canonization approaches. 
 
 The Cardinal-Procurator kneels before the Vicar of 
 Christ a third time, and the consistorial advocate a third 
 time repeats the petition, adding to the terms imtanter^ 
 instantius, the superlative instantissime. 
 
 The Secretary of Briefs replies that His Holiness, per- 
 suaded that the canonization prayed for is pleasing to 
 God, deigns to pronounce definitely upon the matter. 
 At these words all rise to their feet. The mitred Pontiff 
 speaks ex cathedrd, and, as Head of the Universal Church, 
 delivers his infallible judgment. 
 
 The voice of the old man of ninety years rings out 
 clear and strong, and a great hush falls upon the vast 
 crowd. It is the Vice-God who is speaking now, he 
 who has power to loose and to bind, to save and to de- 
 stroy, wdiose authority reaches beyond the grave, even 
 through the cycles of eternity. 
 
 The Pope emphasizes the Latin words with a peculiar 
 con\nilsive movement of his frail body. The white arms 
 are uplifted, and the eyes of 60,000 people are riveted 
 
340 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 upon the figure of this old man who is speaking, not 
 with the tongue of Count Gioacchino Pecci, whom the 
 world calls Leo XIII., but with that of the Holy Ghost : 
 
 'Ad honorem Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis, ad exal- 
 tationem Fidei Catholicae, et Christian^e Religionis augmen- 
 tum, auctoritate Domini Nostri Jesu Christi, Beatorum 
 Apostolorum Petri et Pauli ac Nostra ; matura deliberatione 
 prffibabita et Diviua Ope sa^pius implorata, ac de Venera- 
 bilium Fratrum Nostrorum Sanctse Romanse Ecclesi?e Car- 
 dinalium, Patriarcharum, Archiepiscoporum et Episcoporum 
 in Urbe existentium consilio, Beatos Ritam a Cassia, et 
 Johannem Baptistam de la Salle Confessores, Sanctos esse 
 decernimus et definimus ac Sanctorum Catologo adscribimus. 
 ... In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.' ^ 
 
 The infallible decree has gone forth, and the new 
 Saints are elevated to the honours of the altar. Leo 
 XIII. sinks back on his throne as if exhausted, but the 
 keen eyes are gleaming with a scarcely concealed satis- 
 faction. The Cardinal- Procurator and consistorial advo- 
 cate kneel again at his feet. The latter thanks the Pope 
 in the Cardinal's name, and begs of him yet one more 
 favour, namely the direction of Letters Apostolic con- 
 firming the dignity of the newly-canonized. The Holy 
 Father signifies his consent, and the Cardinal-Procurator 
 
 1 * In honour of tlie Holy and Indivisible Trinity, for the exaltation 
 of the Catholic Faith, and for the increase of the Christian Religion, by 
 the authority of Our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed Apostles, Peter 
 and Paul, and by Our own Authority ; after mature deliberation, and 
 after havincr implored the Divine Assistance, having heard the judgment 
 of Our Venerable brothers, the Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, the 
 Patriarchs, Archbishops and Bishops present in the City, we decree and 
 name Saints, and inscribe in the Calendar of the Saints, the blessed Rita 
 da Cascia and Jean Baptiste de la Salle. ... In the Name of the Father, 
 the Son, and th^ Holy Spirit. Amen.* 
 
CASTING OF NETS 341 
 
 ascends the steps of the throne, and, witli a profound 
 genuflection, kisses the hands and the knees of the 
 Supreme Pontift'. 
 
 Then the Pope, risin^,', intones the first strophe of the 
 Te Deum, A flourish of trumpets sounds from the sum- 
 mit of the dome, followed by the boominf^ of the great 
 bolls of the basilica, while all the bells of Rome peal and 
 clash in response to the signal from St. Peter's, announc- 
 ing to the city that the gates of heaven have opened 
 once more at the bidding of the Pontifex Maxinms. 
 
 Hilda and her husband followed attentively each suc- 
 cessive portion of the ceremony, while Consignor jMartini 
 explained to them its significance. Their places were 
 near enough to the Papal throne to enable them to 
 observe the features and bearing of its occupant. 
 
 ^ Does he believe in his own power ? ' whispered Walter, 
 as, after pronouncing the Apostolic Benediction, the Pope 
 retired for a few minutes to rest and take his usual cup 
 of soup before the Mass succeeding the canonization 
 should commence. 
 
 'Does he not !' answered Monsignor Martini. 'Could 
 you look at the expression of his face when he said the 
 words " and by Our own authority," and doubt it ? Leo 
 XIIT. is a profound believer in his own infallibility — 
 more so, perhaps, than Pius IX. was. When, after the 
 promulgation of the dogma of Infallibility, a prelate with 
 whom I was acquainted, and who made no secret of his 
 disbelief in it, ventured to ask Pio Mono whether he 
 believed himself to be infallible, the answer he received 
 was this: "I, Mastai Ferretti, believe that the Pope is 
 
342 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 infallible." The note of sarcasm is lost in the English, 
 nor can the look of humour which accompanied the 
 remark be reproduced. Are you impressed by this cere- 
 mony, Lady Redman?' he added, turning to Hilda. 
 
 '■ I am deeply interested, but not impressed. I feel as 
 if I were at the theatre, and that nothing around me 
 is real,' she replied. ^No doubt these terrible decora- 
 tions give one that idea,' she continued; *and then one 
 doubts whether it can be true that any human being 
 possesses so much power over the future life as is implied 
 by what we have just seen. Do you believe it, Monsig- 
 nore ? ' she asked suddenly in a lovv voice. 
 
 Monsignor Martini hesitated and looked around him 
 almost nervously. 
 
 'Rome has always professed to exercise authority in 
 the next world,' he replied, with a smile. ' Ceesar had 
 believers in his divinity, as Leo has in his supernatural 
 powers.' 
 
 At this moment the Pope reappeared. 
 
 ' Some of the most curious ceremonies have yet to 
 come,' continued Monsignor Martini. 
 
 On a credence-table at the left-hand side of the altar 
 were placed the effigies of the new Saints, with the 
 Papal arms beneath. Enormous wax candles lay on the 
 table, two of which weighed no less than sixty pounds, 
 while the remainder weighed twelve pounds. Beside 
 these were two large loaves of bread, one gilded, the 
 other silvered, on magnificent golden dishes, a gold and a 
 silver barrel, the one containing wine and the other water, 
 and three gilded bird-cages, in which were respectively 
 turtle-doves, pigeons, and small birds of various species. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 343 
 
 Durin;^' the t)irL'rt()r}' uf the Mass, the Cardiniils and 
 otlicrs selected fur the olliee advanced to the table, 
 their right hands covered with a small white napkin. 
 Then, preceded l»y two I\)ntitical Usliers and a Master 
 of Ceremonies, and escorted by Ids Gentlemen-in-Waiting, 
 bearing the two huge candles, a Cardinal-Dishop advanced 
 to the foot of the throne. He was followed by two 
 monks belonging to the Religious Orders of the canon- 
 ized, one of whom bore a smaller candle, while the 
 other carried the cage containing the pigeons. A similar 
 procession, headed by a Cardinal-priest, and a third, 
 escorting a Cardinal-Deacon, followed, the former bearing 
 the turtle-iloves, and the latter the barrels containing the 
 water and the wine. Finally, the Cardinal-Procurator 
 advanced with the offering of smaller wax candles and 
 the cage of little singing-birds. 
 
 Each of the gifts was presented in its order to the 
 Holy Father, the donors kissing his hand and knees. 
 
 ^ The wax candles,' explained Monsignor INIartini, 
 'signify the flesh of Christ. As wax, the work of 
 bees, is created from the purest substance of flowers 
 and is incorruptible, so the flesh of Christ, derived 
 from Ilis Immaculate ■Mother, is incorruptible. The 
 liame of the candle symbolizes His Divinity, and also 
 the ardour for Him which should burn within us. The 
 oblation of the bread indicates that the Saints care for 
 no other food save that of the Body of Christ in the 
 Sacrament. It is a symbol, also, of their charity. The 
 wine signifies the abundance of grace poured forth upon 
 them, and is also an allusion to the mystic vineyard of the 
 Lord; the water represents the sorrows and tribulations 
 
344 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 of life, and also purity, wisdom, grace and eternal salva- 
 tion. The turtle-doves are emblematic of fidelity, and, 
 since they are garrulous birds, of the gift of preaching/ 
 
 Monsignor Martini's eyes twinkled as he proffered 
 the last explanation, and Walter Redman was obliged to 
 restrain his laughter. 
 
 ^ They also signify,' he continued, ^ purity, grief, and 
 love of solitude. The pigeons are symbolic of charity, 
 and also, according to St. Thomas Aquinas, of the 
 seven gifts of the Holy Ghost. The little birds re- 
 present the winged flight of the Saints towards heaven, 
 the perpetual song in praise of the Most High. There 
 are countless other significations which theologians 
 have pretended to discover in these mystic offerings,' 
 he concluded, 'but I shall not try your patience by 
 enumerating them.' 
 
 The wearisome formalities of the Pontifical Mass at last 
 came to an end. The dressing and undressing of the 
 officiating ecclesiastics, and the perpetual genuflections, 
 were over, and the Papal procession re-formed itself. The 
 Pope reseated himself on the Sedia Gestatoria, and with the 
 same pomp and magnificence as had characterized its en- 
 trance, the Papal Court prepared to leave St. Peter's. 
 Once again the white-robed figure, tripled-crowned, raised 
 itself upon trembling hands, and made great sweeping 
 signs of the cross over the prostrate multitude. Then the 
 pent-up feelings of the thousands who thronged the basilica 
 burst forth into a storm of applause and cheering. Women 
 and men threw themselves on their knees and bowed their 
 faces to the earth as the Vicar of Christ passed by. The 
 pale, transparent face was suffused by a faint glow of 
 
CASTING OF NETS 345 
 
 colour, the white hiiiul, with the iliainoiuls of the episcopal 
 ring glittering in the artitieiiil light, was raised again and 
 again in blessing, and for the first time the penetrating 
 expression of the eyes softened. Then, as the ostrich fans 
 disappeared under the portico of the church, a great shout 
 of * Viva il Papa ! Ev^'iva il Papa-Re ! ' rent the air, and 
 Leo XII 1. was borne away to his self-imposed captivity 
 within the Vatican. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 IT was two o'clock before Walter and Hilda found them- 
 selves back ill the Via Gaeta after the long ceremony 
 in St. Peter's. They brought Monsignor Martini back to 
 luncheon with them, and all three were more than ready 
 for the meal, for the canonization had lasted nearly five 
 hours, and they had breakfasted early in order to be at the 
 basilica in good time. 
 
 Walter had made an appointment that afternoon with 
 Prince Brancaleone to visit a horse-breeding establishment 
 belonging to the latter, situated a few miles out of Rome, 
 and as soon as luncheon was over he left Monsignor Mar- 
 tini and Hilda together, and drove down to the Palazzo 
 Montelupi. 
 
 IVIonsignor Martini was about to take his departure also, 
 but Hilda begged him not to do so. 
 
 'I am not going out this afternoon,' she said to him ; 
 Hhis morning's function was quite enough for one day. 
 Will you not stop a little while and talk to me, Mon- 
 signore ? * 
 
 'With great pleasure,' he replied; and the two went to 
 the drawing-room together as Walter Redman left the 
 house. 
 
 ' Have you seen anything more of Mr. Russell ? ' asked 
 Hilda presently. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 347 
 
 * Yes,' answered Monsignor Miirtini ; ' he has been 
 several times to see nie. It ap|)ears that he and liis wife 
 are going to leave Rome in a day or two. She was in 
 St. Peter's this morning ; 1 saw her with Mrs. St. liCger 
 as we went in. JUit you have uot seen Mrs. Russell, I 
 suppose ? ' he added. 
 
 'No,' said Hilda. 'To tell you the truth, I have 
 avoided her. 1 feel too angry with her to go and see her. 
 Do you think that very wrong of me, Monsignore ? ' 
 
 'You are one of her persecutors,' replied Monsignor 
 Martini, with a smile. 
 
 'I?' 
 
 'So I hear. Mrs. Russell is quite a heroine in your 
 Endish Catholic world in Rome. I have been asked if it 
 was true that her husband turned her out into the street, 
 or, rather, I was told so as a fact, and my reply was not 
 listened to. Lady Mertou is — what is your expression? 
 — " running," is it not ? — yes, running her as a persecuted 
 convert ; and she has been presented to the Pope as such. 
 People say that her husband will give her no money, and 
 that Lady INIerton's charity keeps her from starving.' 
 
 Hilda laughed, notwithstanding her indignation. 
 
 ' I wonder if the Pope was told that,' she said. 
 
 'Certainly he will have been told it,' said Monsignor 
 Martini. 'He will have given her his benediction, the 
 poor man I ' he added, with a little outbreak of Roman 
 sarcasm. 
 
 Hilda Redman was silent for a few moments, during 
 which she looked at the priest as though debating in her 
 mind whether she should speak her thoughts or not. 
 
 ' Monsignore,' she said at length hesitatingly, 'I am 
 
348 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 glad we are alone together this afternoon. In a few days 
 my husband and I will have left Rome, and I have always 
 had something on my mind about which I have been long- 
 ing to ask for your help and advice.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini's satirical manner left him in an 
 instant. 
 
 * I shall be very glad if I can be of any help to you, 
 Lady Redman,' he said gently ; ' but as to my advice — 
 well, I am afraid that it is not worth very much. I 
 am not going to ask you what it is you wish to con- 
 sult me about, for, instead of your telling me, I think it 
 would be easier if I told you. You can tell me if I am 
 mistaken/ 
 
 Hilda nodded her head without speaking. 
 
 ' We have had many conversations together/ continued 
 Monsignor Martini, ' and though you have never said as 
 much to me, I have gathered from them that you do not 
 see your way clearly before you. You came to Rome hop- 
 ing to see it more clearly, and you are disappointed. Is it 
 not so ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' exclaimed Hilda eagerly, 'more than disap- 
 pointed.* 
 
 Monsignor Martini gave a little sigh. 
 
 ' Disgusted perhaps ? ' he replied. ' Well,' he continued, 
 ' I have known many people in your position, but most of 
 them have not had the courage to confess to it. But what 
 do you fear from this feeling, Lady Redman ? ' 
 
 ' That it has caused me to lose my faith in the Church,' 
 replied Hilda, in a low voice. ' That is a terrible thing 
 to say, is it not ? ' she added. ' You will tell me that I 
 should not think — that I should only accept and obey ; 
 
CASTING OF NI:TS 349 
 
 and I miglit do so if I li:id only myself to consider, but 
 
 there are others — my husband, and ' She stopped 
 
 confusedly. 
 
 'I quite understand,' said Monsignor Martini quietly; 
 and then he added, ' I will ask you the question that I 
 have more than once asked your husband when we have 
 discussed these things together. What do you mean by 
 " the Church " ? ' 
 
 ^Why, our Church, the Roman Church, of course/ 
 replied Hilda. 
 
 ' And you have lost your faith in the Roman Church,' 
 repeated Monsignor Martini. ' Why ? ' 
 
 Hilda looked at him with some surprise. His voice 
 was very gentle, and she could not help thinking how 
 differently Father Galsworthy or Father Vincent would 
 have received such a confession. His manner had 
 undergone no alteration. He was still the man, not 
 the ecclesiastic. 
 
 ' Why ? ' he asked again, and as his clear brown eyes 
 met her own Hilda read no look of stern condemnation 
 in them, but only sympathy, and perhaps a little sadness. 
 Then she told him all the story of her married life ; how 
 she had been assured that Lord Redman would certainly 
 become a Catholic if she married him ; how quickly she 
 had realized that nothing was further from his thoughts 
 and intentions, and the pressure which had been brought 
 to bear upon her to make her break her promise to her 
 husband and force her to convert him to Catholicism. 
 She told him of the mental struggle through which she 
 had passed, and of her interviews with the Dominican at 
 Abbotsbridge and with the Oratorian in London. 
 
350 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 Monsignor Martini listened in silence. Once or twice 
 he shaded his eyes with his hand and appeared to be 
 thinking deeply. 
 
 ' And then/ continued Hilda, ^ I came to Rome. It 
 was a mistake, I think. Had I never done so, I should 
 still have been able to believe in the Church. I told 
 myself that what I had undergone in England I had 
 undergone at the hands of fanatical converts, but that 
 at Rome I should find the true Catholic Church. You 
 ask me why I have lost my faith, Monsignore. I have 
 lost it by coming to Rome. Luther lost it in the same 
 way, did he not ? I thought that Rome would strengthen 
 my belief in the Church ; I even dreamed that our being here 
 together might lead my husband to become a Catholic. 
 When I was a girl I used to picture to myself the Vatican 
 and the Pope. Well, the Vatican is a political and a 
 money-making machine, and the Pope Can a rea- 
 sonable human being witness such a scene as that of this 
 morning without a smile at the folly and at the arrogance 
 of it ? Those priests — you saw them — they were laugh- 
 ing, as they laugh at the credulity of the poor pilgrims 
 and at the superstition of the peasants at the Ara Coeli 
 or in Sant Agostino. One cannot see such things and 
 believe ' 
 
 ' In our Roman system ? Perhaps not,' interposed 
 Monsignor Martini calmly. 
 
 'And then,' continued Hilda, 'all the heartless deceit 
 which has attended Mrs. Russell's conversion. Do you 
 know, Monsignore, that the last time I called on my 
 grandmother in the Via Gregoriana they were congratu- 
 lating themselves on the mortification it must be to Mr. 
 
CAsriNc; OF ni:ts 351 
 
 Russell as an Aii«^lic;iii clcr<^yman to foci that liis wife 
 disbelieved in his ('hurch and in the validity uf iiis Orders. 
 That shocked nic more than 1 can tell you, for I know 
 wliat a cruel blow it has been to Mr. Russell, and how 
 generously he has forgiven his wife's want of confidcnec 
 in liini. I am no theologian, and therefore I cannot reason 
 on points of dogma, but I cannot believe in a system which 
 tolerates and encourages such deception as I see around 
 me here in Rome. Is it possible that it can be right to 
 allow the uneducated to believe in thinirs which those 
 who countenance them must know in their hearts to be 
 impostures? I know the excuse which is made for doing 
 so — that if the people were not allowed to believe in their 
 miraculous shrines and images they would believe in noth- 
 ing at all. But would such an excuse be made if those 
 superstitions were not productive of money, and if they 
 did not keep the masses under the domination of the 
 Church? It does not strike one in England that one 
 belongs to such a system. English Catholicism seems 
 to be so different. But since I have been in Rome I 
 see Catholicism as it is. My reasons for doubting must 
 appear to you very superficial, very foolish — a woman's 
 reasons, do they not ? ' 
 
 Monsignor Martini looked at lier attentively. 
 
 ' What do you want my advice upon ? ' he asked. 
 
 *Can anything justify a Catliolic mother in consenting 
 to her child being brought up in another religion?' she 
 said hurriedly. 
 
 ' Have you been asked to do so, I^ady Redman ? 
 
 'No; Walter — my husband — would never ask it of 
 me, but * 
 
352 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 ' But he would wish it, you tliiuk ? ' 
 ' Yes. When he married me he did not care, or he 
 thought that he did not.' 
 ' And now ? ' 
 ' Now he does care. I am glad that he does.' 
 
 * Why should you be glad? ' asked Monsignor Martini. 
 Hilda looked at him quickly. 
 
 ' Is it not better that he should care ? ' she said. ' He 
 used to be so indifferent. But for some time, ever since 
 my illness last year, I think, I have felt sure that he is not 
 indifferent any longer. If my child had lived, he would 
 not have placed any obstacles in the way of its being brought 
 up a Catholic. He would never break his promise.' 
 
 ' Do you want him to break it ? ' 
 
 Hilda started slightly at the question. 
 
 * No,' she replied. ' It must be my doing ; I want to 
 absolve him from it. Nobody but I can do so ; but I 
 can, can I not, Monsignore ? ' 
 
 ' You can do so — yes,' replied Monsignor Martini 
 slowly, ' by abandoning the faith in which you have 
 been brought up.' 
 
 ' By leaving the Church ? ' 
 
 ' By leaving the Roman Church. Under no other 
 circumstances could you absolve your husband from his 
 promise. As I understand it, the Roman Church in 
 England exacts a pledge from those who make a mixed 
 marriage that all the children of the marriage shall be 
 baptized and brought up Roman Catholics. It appears 
 to me to be not only a very intolerant exaction, but also 
 a very short-sighted policy ; but I am not of your nation.' 
 
 Hilda leaned back in her chair with a sigh. 
 
CASTING OF NETS 3S3 
 
 ' I dare say that you caniiut uiKlcrstaiid,' who said 
 presently. ' My husband naturally (lislikes the iilea of 
 liis name and estates passing into Jlonian Catholie 
 hands. He is devoted to Abbotshury, and all the 
 people tliere arc devoted to him ; and besides, tlierc 
 are family traditions to which I am sure he clinj^s, 
 more especially after the experiences which he has had 
 of Catholicism since he married me. Why should a sou 
 uot be brought up in his father's faith, Monsignore ? 
 When that faith is a Christian one, what can it matter ? 
 This exaction on the part of the Church in England is 
 of very recent origin. A few years ago Walter's sons 
 would have been brought up members of the Church of 
 England, and his daughters in their mother's religion.' 
 
 ' But what leads you to suppose that Lord Redman 
 has any stronger feelings on the subject than he had 
 when he married you ? ' asked Monsignor IMartini. 
 
 * I know it,' replied Hilda. * I cannot tell you how. 
 Walter is so loyal that he never would speak to me on 
 the subject unless I forced him to do so. But, all the 
 same, the thought of the future is troubling him. Per- 
 haps the birth of our stillborn son brought things lionic 
 to him. I cannot tell, but I often think that his indiftcr- 
 encc to religion gradually left him after that. You 
 have seen so much of him since we have been in Rome, 
 Monsignore, and no doubt he has talked to you more 
 openly than he has felt able to do to me.' 
 
 She paused, and looked at the priest almost wistfully. 
 IMonsignor Martini moved uneasily in his chair. At 
 last he got up and walked to the window, where he 
 stood looking out on to the little garden with its wealth 
 
 23 
 
354 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 of baiiksia roses. In all his career as a priest he did 
 not recollect having been confronted by so difficult a 
 problem. Ho had become strangely interested in this 
 English couple, and he felt that he possessed the key to 
 the psychological state of both the husband and the wife. 
 
 * Your husband has talked to nic — yes/ he said pre- 
 sently ; * and you are right, Lady Redman, his indifference 
 has given place to another state of mind. He never was 
 really indifferent. Many men are like that. In order to 
 escape from the fetters of dogmatic belief, they feign a 
 general scepticism which they are far from feeling. Some- 
 times God supplies a motive for belief, and their scepti- 
 cism vanishes. As I have told you before, your husband 
 will never be a Catholic ; of that I am convinced. Our 
 system is not adapted to such. as he.' 
 
 ' But he will have a stronger faith in the teaching of 
 the Anglican Church,' exclaimed Hilda. ' It is the 
 Church of his forefathers,' she continued; Hhe form of 
 faith to which he nominally belongs. That is what I 
 am longing for, Monsignore ; it would make me so 
 happy, you do not know how happy. And then,' she 
 murmured softly, as though speaking to herself, Svhen 
 his child comes it will lead him nearer to the God in 
 whom he already believes, and they will be united.' 
 
 She rose from her seat, and came towards the priest. 
 
 'Monsignore,' she continued, laying her hand upon 
 his arm, 'I cannot have the child baptized a Catholic. 
 Do you hear? — I will not! They tell me that I am 
 no longer a Catholic. I do not know; but I do know 
 that I will not allow the Church to separate my child 
 from its father. I believe that, as you said just now, 
 
CASTING OK NETS 355 
 
 God will siii)[)ly to my husbiuid ;i motive for iiicrca«iiig 
 his fiiitli. Can any motive be strun<^er than that of 
 Nature? And I will further that motive — if it cost me 
 my own soul, I will further it ! You are a priest, but 
 you are not like the others — you have not allowed your 
 priesthood to crush your humanity. Tell me if I may do 
 this thing for my husband's sake. I want your advice, 
 for I know that you w ill not deceive me as the others did.' 
 
 ]\lonsignor INlartini turned towards her, and his eyes 
 shone with a great compassion. 
 
 ' I cannot advise you,' he exclaimed abruptly. ^ I will 
 not. You should not ask it of me, Lady Redman.' 
 
 Hilda drew back from him. 
 
 *I beg your pardon, Monsignore ! ' she said a little 
 bitterly, ' I forgot. Of course you cannot advise me to 
 lose a soul to the Church.' 
 
 Monsignor Martini was silent for a few moments. 
 
 * I dare not advise you,' he said very gently, as Hilda 
 did not speak again. ^I can only do my duty as a 
 priest of the Roman Church by reminding you of tlie 
 claims of that Church. You must seek counsel and 
 advice from a higher authority than mine — from a 
 higher than the Church herself. Go to God. He will 
 direct you, for He is above all Churches. If your 
 motives are good, He will pardon all that there may be 
 in your action which is against the tenets of a branch 
 of His Church. A grave responsibility lies upon you. 
 Your action must be guided by your Maker. No priest 
 can counsel you truly ; we are all of us fallible human 
 beings, and we are bound to advise in the interests of 
 our respective religions. And of all priests I am the last 
 
;^S6 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 to whom you should come for advice. To me, all who 
 seek to do Christ's will, all who strive to make the world 
 a happier and a better place, are members of His Church. 
 You must remember that because I believe this, because 
 I have counselled conciliation and tolerance, I am coldly 
 looked upon here in Rome — that I am forbidden to 
 preach in the Roman diocese. Therefore, I do not pre- 
 sume to advise you as a Catholic priest, and I tell you 
 frankly that my advice to you would not be such as a 
 Catholic priest could give, were you to approach him 
 officially under the seal of confession.' 
 
 ' I know,' replied Hilda. * I am not likely to forget 
 what has been said to me by every priest to whom I 
 have spoken on the subject except yourself,' and she 
 shuddered a little. 
 
 ' Have you told your husband that you would not have 
 your child brought up a Catholic?' asked Monsignor 
 Martini. 
 
 'Yes, I have told him, and I also told Mr. Russell. 
 I think that until the latter heard me say so he always 
 believed that I had converted his wife.' 
 
 * And what did Lord Redman say ? ' 
 
 ' He would not talk about it. He told me to consult 
 you ; but oh, Monsignore ! the look on his face told me 
 better than any words what he thought. Has he spoken 
 to you about it ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' answered Monsignor Martini, 'he has. It is 
 his having done so which makes it so impossible for me 
 to give you any advice beyond that which I have already 
 given. Your husband had a long conversation with me 
 on the subject. It was more iu the nature of a confes- 
 
CASTING OF NETS 357 
 
 sion tluin ;i convcr.siitioii, .-ind as siicli J regard it. 
 While failing tu i)ersuade him ui* the truths of Catiujli- 
 cism, 1 believe that 1 have been the means of lea(lin«r him 
 to rceognize some of those truths whieh are eonnnon to all 
 forms of Christianity, and I am satistied with this result.' 
 Hilda looked at him intently. 
 
 * Monsignorc/ she said earnestly, ' will you answer me 
 one question — not as a priest, but as a Christian to whom 
 all creeds are paths to the same end ? ' 
 
 'I will answer you as such a man would answer,' 
 replied Monsignor INIartini simply. 
 
 ' Do you believe the knowledge that his children were 
 to be Protestants would prevent Walter from relapsing 
 into unbelief? Do you believe that it would be for his 
 happiucss here and hereafter ? ' 
 
 The colour left Monsignor INIartini's face, and he hesi- 
 tated for a moment ; but it was for a moment only, and 
 then his eyes glowed with a strange, soft light. 
 
 * I believe that it would,' he said solemnly. 
 
 A sudden emotion seemed to overpower Hilda, and 
 she sank back in her chair and closed her eyes. As she 
 opened them Monsignor Martini was watching her with 
 a calm, benevolent smile in his eyes. Then the recol- 
 lection of those other eyes which she had seen in St. 
 Peter's that morning — the keen, cold eyes of the Pope 
 — flashed across her, and she closed her own again, as 
 though to shut out their penetrating gaze. As she did 
 so she thought that Monsignor Martini made the sign of 
 the cross over her. 
 
 And when she looked a«rain she was alone. 
 
CHAPTER XXV 
 
 IT was summer again at Abbotsbury. The corn-fields 
 in the Trent Valley were ripening to harvest, and a 
 hot, quivering haze hung over the land and shrouded 
 the silent woods. 
 
 Hilda Redman was lying on a couch which had been 
 wheeled beneath the shade of a great lime-tree standing 
 a few paces from the house. Myriads of bees were at 
 their work overhead among its blossoms, and the drowsy 
 humming of their wings resounded in the sweet-scented 
 air. It was the season when Nature hides her tragedies 
 out of sight, when the restless life of spring and early 
 summer gives place to the calm content of maturer days, 
 and to the peaceful enjoyment of hopes which have been 
 realized. 
 
 * How happy everything is ! ' 
 
 Hilda looked round her with a little sigh which had 
 nothing but satisfaction in it, and then her glance rested 
 upon Walter, who was sitting near her, idly turning over 
 the leaves of a book. 
 
 ' And you — you are happy too, are you not ? ' he 
 asked gently. 
 
 ' Ah, yes ! ' she answered, ' happier than I have ever 
 been in all my life. I think there is nothing now that 
 can divide us — you, me, and baby,' she added softly — 
 
CASriNG OK N I /J S 
 
 359 
 
 * nothing l)ut death; and ivcii that will not divi<lc us 
 for loni;. ^V(.^ shall all lie to<;cthcr — there;' and she 
 lookeil aeross the lawn and over the brilliant (lower-heds 
 to where the gray walls of Abbotshury Ciiureh nestled 
 among the trees. 'It used to trouble nic so niueli — 
 that thought,' she eontiinied, as if to herself. 
 
 ' What thought, llihla '( ' 
 
 'Why, that we should be separated — in this world 
 and in the next. They used to tell me so, Walter; and 
 it seemed so unjust, so erucL' 
 
 Walter Redman smiled. 
 
 ^ It was a lie,' he said to her ; ' they told you many 
 lies in those days.' 
 
 * Yes ; there was only one who ever told me the truth.' 
 
 ' Ah ! Monsignor Martini,' said Walter. ' He is one 
 of those men whose minds soar above creeds. A^ou do 
 not regret what you have done, Hilda?' he added, draw- 
 ing his chair closer to his wife's couch. 
 
 ^Regret it? No,' replied Hilda. ^ Tell me, W\alter,' 
 she continued, ' are you not glad to feel that nobody can 
 come between you and us — baby and me? I know that 
 you are, but I like to hear you say it. That is foolish 
 of me, is it not ? ' and she smiled at him. 
 
 Walter Redman leaned towards her. 
 
 * Listen, dear ! ' he said. ' I never told you, but, after 
 your confinement last year, the thought that our child, 
 had it lived, must be brought up a Roman Catholic be- 
 came intolerable to me. It was not tlie Catholic relij^ion 
 wdiich I had learned to hate ; it was the intolerance, the 
 deceit and the dishonesty of the individual Catholics by 
 whom you were surrounded, and who were the cause 
 
360 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 of so much suffering to you. I was glad the child was 
 born dead, and I would rather have had no son to come 
 after me than feel that those hypocrites had succeeded in 
 getting hold of Abbotsbury.' 
 
 ^ Not my mother, Walter ! ' interposed Hilda hurriedly. 
 ' She was not to blame. You must remember that my 
 grandmother is an absolute fanatic. My mother never 
 dared oppose her.' 
 
 ' No,' returned her husband ; * I do not blame your 
 mother. It is such converts as liady Merton, and those 
 who work upon their superstitions, who bring Catholicism 
 into disrepute with all who are liberal-minded, and with 
 all who believe that God is Himself, and not the vindic- 
 tive human monster whicli many delight to picture Him.' 
 
 * They will never forgive me, Walter ! ' said Hilda, and 
 a cloud passed over the sunshine in her face as she spoke. 
 
 He bent over her tenderly. 
 
 * Need you care whether they do or not ? ' he asked. 
 
 A servant came towards them from the house, bringing 
 the afternoon post and London newspapers. 
 
 * Here is one from Russell,' said Walter, looking through 
 a small pile of letters which were addressed to him. * I 
 wish he would reconsider his determination to resign 
 the living/ he added as he opened it. When he had 
 read the letter, he passed it to Hilda. * Poor fellow ! ' 
 he said; ^but I dare say he is right.' 
 
 Mr. Russell persisted in his intention to retire from 
 Abbotsbury. He could not, he wrote to Lord Redman, 
 continue to be Rector of the parish after his wife's seces- 
 sion from the Church whose minister he was. There 
 was, moreover, another reason which would make it im- 
 
CASTING OK NKTS 361 
 
 possible for liiiii to rcmiiin at Ahbotsbiiry Rectory. Lady 
 Redman's decision to have her newly-born son baptized 
 a member of the Church of En^dand, therei)y practically 
 severing herself from the Roman communion, would, he 
 felt sure, be the cause of nuich bitterness on the part of 
 his wife, who was very enthusiastic in the cause of her 
 new faith. He did not intend, therefore, to expose Lady 
 Redman to the unpleasantness which could hardly fail 
 to occur between the two houses should he continue to 
 live at the Rectory. 
 
 Hilda handed the letter back to her husband \vith a sigh. 
 ' I am sorry,' she said, ' but I think he is right. Mary 
 Russell's presence here would be disagreeable for all of us. 
 But what a true gentleman Mr. Russell is, Walter,' she 
 continued— ^ a true gentleman and a true Christian. 
 There is not a word of blame or reproach of his wife in his 
 letter ; no complaint at being forced to give up his work 
 and his home. To the last he thinks of others before ''.im- 
 self. How could she do it?' she added indignantly — 
 * how could she ? ' 
 
 Lord Redman shrugged his shoulders. 
 ' My dear Hilda ! ' he remarked ; ' as Ned Shirley says, 
 " Religion is a very curious thing." ' 
 
 'It is not religion,' exclaimed Hilda contemptuously; 
 ' the religion has been all on her husband's side.' 
 
 The sun was sinking down behind the woods of Red- 
 man's Cross ; the evening breeze came rippling over the 
 pastures and rustled through the ancient oaks of Abbots- 
 bury. 
 
 Hilda rose from the sofa upon which she was still 
 obliged to pass the greater part of the day. 
 
362 CASTING OF NETS 
 
 * I will walk a little before going indoors/ she said. 
 
 With Walter by her side she crossed the garden to the 
 old gateway leading into the churchyard. The doors of 
 the church stood open, and, as though moved by a com- 
 mon impulse, they entered the building. The last rays of 
 the setting sun were streaming in through the painted 
 windows, casting strange lights upon the still, marble 
 figures of the dead and gone Redmans. A solemn still- 
 ness seemed to • possess the place, broken only by the soft 
 notes of the wood-pigeons in the trees without. Hilda 
 advanced slowly till she reached the altar rails, and there 
 she sank upon her knees and prayed. 
 
 A touch on her hand roused her, and, raising her head, 
 she saw that her husband was kneeling by her side. 
 
 THE END 
 
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