in the succeeding years which recorded his defeat in Winnipeg, his exclusion from the Dominion Government, his departure for British Columbia, his sudden rise and his equally sudden fall in the politics of that Province. It is hard to determine the rights and wrongs of the late controversy in the British Columbia Cabinet. Joseph Martin seems to have erred at the expense of his own ambition when he joined hands with Messrs. Semlin and Cotton. A coalition between the Conservative wing of the Semlin-Cotton party and the adherents of the Turner Government would then have been the end of the crisis created by the dismissal of Hon. J. H. Turner in 1898. If Joseph Martin had not been urged to place himself at the mercy of his colleagues by accepting the place of Attorney-General in their Government, he would have had his chance to show what he could do as leader of a united Opposition. united Opposition. The windows of Joseph Martin's future in British Columbia are now darkened, but the reverses which his enemies describe as the climax of his final bankruptcy, may simply give him time to take stock.

It is a misfortune that the large elements of public usefulness in the character of the strong man are not associated with the gracious manners and the conciliatory ways which are the stock in trade of the office-holder. The fanaticism of subsidy-hunting greed has made the most of Joseph Martin's lack of gracious manners and conciliatory ways. He has been cursed as a demagogue by the alien mining brokers and the English promoters, who blame him exclusively for the wise and just eight-hour law which was introduced in the name of the united Government, and unanimously adopted by the Legislature. Fanaticism is supposed to be the characteristic of religious zealots and prohibitionists. The bigotry of commerce is more to be dreaded by the faithful public man than the bigotry of creeds. The politician who gets in front of a scheme for raiding the public resources, may be forgotten by the people whom he his enriched, but he

will never be forgiven by the interests which he has offended.

Patriots who yearn to get rich “developin' the undeveloped resources of the country," recognize Joseph Martin as an enemy to be dreaded. The bosses who wish to figure as a power behind the throne of a weak Cabinet Minister, denounce him as an impossibility, and corporations which fool every Opposition and fatten on every Government, are enemies to the advancement of a public man who plays for the people in battalions, and sometimes needlessly irritates individuals. The mistakes of a strong man who is useful to the people, are more widely advertised than the crimes of a weak man who is useful to his friends and backers. The fury of jealousy, inside the party, the whispering of all the sordid influences which profit by weakness in public affairs, could not prevail against Joseph Martin if he ruled his own spirit. He was denounced for bringing the Northern Pacific into Manitoba, but the enemies who insisted that there was a "steal" for him in a scheme which gave that alien corporation a gross subsidy of $1,650 per mile from all sources, can estimate the truly enormous profits of these modern schemes which bleed the Provincial and Dominion treasuries for subsidies at the rate of $10,000 and $16,000 and upwards per mile in land and money.

The cautious place-man who is afraid to breathe without speculating as to the probable effect of the next breath on his own political future is the curse of Canada. The Liberal party which should be led by politicians in the best sense is coming more and more under the control of place-men in the worst sense. Joseph Martin is not a placeman, but he would do well to tincture his courage with a slight infusion of the place-man's virtue of caution, not for the sake of making friends with the influences which will never be in favour of any strong man, but to conciliate people who are in sympathy with his aims.

Long-range prophecy is never easy

and tormented his own soul he permitted none of them to disturb the peace of the doctrine he preached. These people striving with irresponsive barren acres, and bending wearily above hopeless furrows, were told how they might lighten the labours both of themselves and others, and promised places of green pastures and running brooks. The gates of their visionary celestial city were flung wide to them, and in the windows of the heavenly mansion cheering lamps were lit.

Was this false doctrine? Perhaps. Protestants are fond of saying with a sneer that Catholicism is a very “comfortable religion." The implication would seem to be that a religion is not to be chosen because of its consolations. Therefore, it is perhaps regrettable that Sidney's preachment to Dole was so pronouncedly a message of "sweetness and light."

His hearers loved him, and looked upon his unministerial ways with a tolerance which surprised themselves; often, as he passed upon these long, seemingly aimless walks which Dole could not comprehend, a hard-wrought man would pause in his work, straighten himself and look after him wistfully even as the eyes of the fishermen followed The Galilean, or a weary woman would stand in her doorway until such time as he drew near, and then, with some little excuse upon her lips, arrest his steps for a moment, to turn away comforted by the benediction of his mere presence.

Nor was Sidney insensible of, or irresponsive to this output of affection. He felt the full force of it, and returned to them their measure heaped up and running over. And for a time the comfort of the mutual feeling helped to sustain his spirit, fainting beneath the burden of morbid introspection, and sapped by the ignorantly exercised power of his wife, for, not understanding the influence she wielded, Vashti used it rashly. Suggestion was superimposed upon suggestion until the centre of his mental gravity was all but lost, and in his walks he often paused bewildered at the upspringing of cer

tain things within his mind, grasping at the elusive traces of his vanishing individuality.

The hour is past when these things might be scoffed at; the old legends have given place to scientific data more marvellous than the myths they discredit. The law has recognized the verity of these things, and justice has vindicated its decision with the extreme fiat of death. Alas, the justice of men is for those who kill the body; it cannot reach those who murder the mind.

The church was unusually crowded when Sidney arose. It had been hinted abroad that Ann Serrup was to be there, and Dole stirred with pleasurable anticipation, for Ann Serrup was an unregenerate individual so far as religion was concerned.

It was related of her that once at a revival meeting in Brixton, when the fiery revivalist of that place, Mr. Hackles, approached her, asking in sepulchral tones where she expected to go when she died, Ann replied, unmoved, that she would go "to where they put her," a response calculated, in the mind of Mrs. Ranger, to bring a "judgment onto her."

The Rev. Hackles denounced her as a vessel of wrath and designated her as chaff ready to be cast into the fire, but Ann sat dreamily through it all, and, as Lanty related afterwards, "never turned a hair." And this was when she bore no other shame than the stigma of being a Serrup, and therefore predestined to evil, and now she was coming to Dole church. What would their gentle pastor say?

It was a sweet summer day. Mabella and little Dorothy sat by a window, and the yellow sunshine lingered about the two yellow heads, and reached out presently to Lanty's curls when he entered a little later.

Vashti, white and stately, entered with Sally and took her place in the conspicuous pew set aside for the preachers. Sally behaved herself demurely enough in church now, but such is the force of habit that the eyes of all the juveniles in Dole were bent steadily upon the preacher's pew, for in Sally

Mrs. Ranger sat in the body of the church, with the expression of one who perceives an evil odour. This expression was assumed with her Sunday bonnet and laid aside with it. Indeed, Mrs. Ranger thought too much both of her Sunday bonnet and her religious principles to use either of them on week days.

Temperance and Nathan sat alone in a pew well back. It was reported in Dole that they had been seen to look at each other in church, but that was doubtless one of Mrs. Ranger's slanders. Temperance would have been the last to do anything scandalous.

The whole congregation waited. Sidney was finding his places in the books. This was always an irritating spectacle in Dole, but was forgiven like Sidney's other delinquencies. Dole liked to see the preacher open his Bible with the abrupt air of one seeking a sign from whence to draw his inspiration for the forthcoming sermon. The Dole children had wont to have animated arguments as to whether old Mr. Didymus knew where he was about to open the book or whether his text came to him in the nature of a surprise. If so then they marvelled that he should so readily find the bit. Young Tom Shinar had once declared that Mr. Didymus found the place beforehand and substantiated his statement by saying he had seen little ends of white paper sticking out of the big Bible on the pulpit. But this was coming it too strong for even the most hardened of his adherents, and until Tom rehabilitated himself by thrashing a Brixton boy who said the Brixton church was bigger than the Dole tabernacle, he ran a great risk of finding himself isolated as sacriligious people have often been before his time.

To see their preacher searching for his places before their eyes was a most

trying spectacle, and no preacher save one of extraordinary confidence in himself and his vocation would have risked bringing himself thus near the level of mortal man. Sidney surmounted this danger nobly, but Dole gave a sigh of relief, as much perhaps for its preacher as itself, when Sidney after a final flutter of the pages laid down his books, and rising looked down lovingly upon his people; and just as this crisis was reached the door moved a little, wavered on its double hinges, closed, opened again, and finally admitted Ann Serrup, holding her baby in her arms and cowering behind his little form as though it were protection instead of a disgrace. Poor Ann! her bravado vanished at the critical moment and left her dazed, frightened, shamed, given into the hands of her enemies, or so it seemed to her. Now the curiosity of Dole over Ann's appearance had been such that there was not one single seat, so far, at least, as she could see, but what held someone. And to advance under the fire of those curious eyes into any of these seats uninvited was more than Ann dare do. Sidney, with the lack of affectation which characterized him, looked about to see the cause of the concentrated gaze of his congregation, and saw a slim, frightened looking woman standing just within the church door, holding a baby to her breast so tightly that the bewildered child was beginning to rebel against the restraint of the embrace.

Sidney's swift intuitions grasped at once that this was a new comer, a stranger within their gates. He looked towards Vashti-Vashti was looking at the congregation as if expecting one or other of them to do something. Sidney reflected that it might not be Dole etiquette for the minister's wife to move in such a matter, then he turned to his congregation and said in a voice suggestive of disappointment, "Will not one of you offer a seat to our new sister?"

The effect was electrical.

The Rangers, Smilies, Simpsons, and all their ilk rose at the summons. Ann followed Mr. Simpson up the aisle,