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And now, in answer to
Thelma, he nodded piously and rubbed his hands, and said--
"Yes, yes; no doubt, no doubt! All very proper on your part, I am sure!
But concerning this same image of which I came to speak,--it is most
imperative that you should be brought to recognize it as a purely carnal
object, unfitting a maiden's eyes to rest upon. The true followers of
the Gospel are those who strive to forget the sufferings of our dear
Lord as much as possible,--or to think of them only in spirit. The minds
of sinners, alas! are easily influenced,--and it is both unseemly and
dangerous to gaze freely upon the carven semblance of the Lord's limbs!
Yea, truly, it hath oft been considered as damnatory to the soul,--more
especially in the cases of women immured as nuns, who encourage
themselves in an undue familiarity with our Lord, by gazing long and
earnestly upon his body nailed to the accursed tree."
Here Mr. Dyceworthy paused for breath. Thelma was silent, but a faint
smile gleamed on her face.


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