misunderstood quotations from the Gospel. Leskov has a story of a conscientious Danila who found a leper outside the town, and fed and warmed him in the name of love and of Christ. If that Danila had really loved humanity, he would have dragged the leper as far as possible from the town, and would have flung him in a pit, and would have gone to save the healthy. Christ, I hope, taught us a rational, intelligent, practical love.”

“What a fellow you are!” laughed the deacon. “You don’t believe in Christ. Why do you mention His name so often?”

“Yes, I do believe in Him. Only, of course, in my own way, not in yours. Oh, deacon, deacon!” laughed the zoologist; he put his arm round the deacon’s waist, and said gaily: “Well? Are you coming with us to the duel to-morrow?”

“My orders don’t allow it, or else I should come.”

“What do you mean by ‘orders’?”

“I have been consecrated. I am in a state of grace.”

“Oh, deacon, deacon,” repeated Von Koren, laughing, “I love talking to you.”

“You say you have faith,” said the deacon. “What sort of faith is it? Why, I have an uncle, a priest, and he believes so that when in time of drought he goes out into the fields to pray for rain, he takes his umbrella and leather overcoat for fear of getting wet through on his way home. That’s faith! When he speaks of Christ, his face is full of radiance, and all the peasants, men and women, weep floods of tears. He would stop that cloud and put all those forces you talk about to flight. Yes … faith moves mountains.”

The deacon laughed and slapped the zoologist on the shoulder.

“Yes …” he went on; “here you are teaching all the time, fathoming the depths of the ocean, dividing the weak and the strong, writing books and challenging to duels—and everything remains as it is; but, behold! some feeble old man will mutter just one word with a holy spirit, or a new Mahomet, with a sword, will gallop from Arabia, and everything will be topsy-turvy, and in Europe not one stone will be left standing upon another.”

“Well, deacon, that’s on the knees of the gods.”

“Faith without works is dead, but works without faith are worse still—mere waste of time and nothing more.”

The doctor came into sight on the sea-front. He saw the deacon and the zoologist, and went up to them.

“I believe everything is ready,” he said, breathing hard. “Govorovsky and Boyko will be the seconds. They will start at five o’clock in the morning. How it has clouded over,” he said, looking at the sky. “One can see nothing; there will be rain directly.”

“I hope you are coming with us?” said the zoologist.

“No, God preserve me; I’m worried enough as it is. Ustimovitch is going instead of me. I’ve spoken to him already.”

Far over the sea was a flash of lightning, followed by a hollow roll of thunder.

“How stifling it is before a storm!” said Von Koren. “I bet you’ve been to Laevsky already and have been weeping on his bosom?”