"Yet how well you replied this afternoon."

"It was mere chance; the subject on which we had been reading had

interested me. This afternoon, instead of dreaming of Deepden, I

was wondering how a man who wished to do right could act so unjustly

and unwisely as Charles the First sometimes did; and I thought what

a pity it was that, with his integrity and conscientiousness, he

could see no farther than the prerogatives of the crown. If he had

but been able to look to a distance, and see how what they call the

spirit of the age was tending! Still, I like Charles--I respect

him--I pity him, poor murdered king! Yes, his enemies were the

worst: they shed blood they had no right to shed. How dared they

kill him!"

Helen was talking to herself now: she had forgotten I could not

very well understand her--that I was ignorant, or nearly so, of the

subject she discussed. I recalled her to my level.

"And when Miss Temple teaches you, do your thoughts wander then?"

"No, certainly, not often; because Miss Temple has generally

something to say which is newer than my own reflections; her

language is singularly agreeable to me, and the information she

communicates is often just what I wished to gain."

"Well, then, with Miss Temple you are good?"

"Yes, in a passive way: I make no effort; I follow as inclination

guides me. There is no merit in such goodness."

"A great deal: you are good to those who are good to you. It is

all I ever desire to be. If people were always kind and obedient to

those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all

their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would

never alter, but would grow worse and worse. When we are struck at

without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure

we should--so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do

it again."

"You will change your mind, I hope, when you grow older: as yet you

are but a little untaught girl."

"But I feel this, Helen; I must dislike those who, whatever I do to

please them, persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish

me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show

me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved."

"Heathens and savage tribes hold that doctrine, but Christians and

civilised nations disown it."




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