longed piece of advice, utterly different from anything which Paul had ever heard before, and unlike all that he had imagined about Ned Gardner; for he had not supposed Ned capable of discussing questions of higher education in this manner. And he wondered how and where Ned had got these ideas. He did not feel at liberty to ask then, so he merely thanked Ned, and they turned to the consideration of other things. As Ned well knew, much of the advice he had given Paul was as yet too far above him to be fully understood, but he hoped that it would linger in the young man's memory till needed. And it did. Paul was impressed, too, with the fact that there was a deal more energy and fire in Ned's nature than he had ever suspected, and that Ned's habitual quietness and moderation of speech and manner must be due to the control of a strong will over strong passions.

But perhaps the thing that struck Paul most forcibly, and therefore left the deepest impression on him, was Ned's closing piece of advice, that he should give no heed to the religious standing of an author or teacher. It carried Paul back instantly to the awful rumors that had floated around Sugar Hill when Ned taught the district school there, that he was an infidel and a disbeliever in religion generally. Paul did not feel warranted in drawing a final conclusion against Ned because of his remark about the theological ban, but it set him to thinking as he had never thought before; and all unconsciously to himself it proved to be a little lump of the leaven of liberalism that worked within him and started the leavening process.

Advice, however, was not the only thing which Paul received from Ned on this occasion. Just before he went away Ned said to him:

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You will doubtless find this first year the hardest for you in every way, mentally, physically, and financially. It will be well to remember this fact whenever you find yourself hard pressed and the four years ahead look long and tedious. When your funds run short I shall expect you to call on me for enough to take you through the year, to be repaid at your convenience."

"I had not expected you to do anything of this sort for me, Ned," said Paul, deeply moved; "but I will accept your generous offer, and with more gratitude and relief than I can tell you."

PART SECOND

THE MAKING OF THE CHRISTIAN CREEDS

"Truth for authority, not authority for truth."

-LUCRETIA MOTT

Wherefore the natural measure whereby to judge our doings, is the sentence of reason. . . . For men to be tied and led by authority, . . . and though there be reason to the contrary, not to listen unto it, . . . this were brutish." -HOOKER, Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity

"The question of the Canon is not settled. No prior age could decide it adequately. . . . The love of truth must be permanent, overriding dogmatic prejudices."

-DAVIDSON, Canon of the Bible

CHAPTER 22

TWO YOUNG MEN GO TO CHURCH

PAUL GRANGER and Stuart Craig were classmates and chums from the beginning of their university course. They met during their entrance examinations, and a half hour's talk resulted in their entering into that relationship which in a college man's life may mean untold good, or untold evil, or merely the constant irritation of enforced close contact with an uncongenial nature. Between Paul and Stuart there sprang up a warm friendship, to the advantage as well as enjoyment of both. Stuart, like Paul, was compelled to practice strict economy.

And so, through all the vicissitudes of freshmanic verdancy, sophomoric conceit, junioric complacency, and senioric dignity, Paul and Stuart stuck together; although, except for the freshman period, neither of them ever exhibited in any marked degree the characteristics popularly attached to the four eras of college life. They found, indeed, that in student life, as in most other phases of human existence, the romantic view of the outsider differs materially from the experimental view of the insider. Their years in the University were for the most part a time of incessant toil, and often of harrassing anxiety over the problem of procuring the necessary supply of bread and beans and beef; and yet years full of the delights that strew the pathway of knowledge patiently and zealously pursued, joys within reach even of the young man with an empty pocket and a not over plethoric stomach. They boarded themselves, alternating in the culinary labors a week at a time; the extent and variety of their cooking and the length of their bill of fare depending on the pressure of University duties and outside work, or on the condition of their purses.

Stuart was a Baptist, and about as firm in his faith and as attentive to his religious obligations as Paul. But while Paul was

devoted to linguistic, historic, and economic studies, Stuart's course ran to the natural sciences and mathematics. Paul was disputatious, quick-tempered, extreme, saying or doing a thing one minute and regretting it the next; Stuart, cool, quiet, moderate, never allowing the deep undercurrent of good feeling between him and Paul to be turned by any dyspeptic or choleric crabbedness on Paul's part.

Outwardly as well as inwardly Paul's life at the University began and ran on much as it had at the Academy. During the first term he found little to do toward self-support. His small stock of cash fell away rapidly. But, having all his time for study, he got a good start that made it the easier when the press of work did come. During the winter he found employment about the residence of one of the professors, taking care of his horse, running the furnace that heated his residence, keeping the walks clear of snow, and the like. The pay was not large, but it was enough to cover the cost of his food. Spring brought other kinds of work, all that he could do. His draft on Ned for money the first year was not so heavy as Ned had expected, and he wrote to Paul to continue to draw on him till farther notice; which meant, as Paul joyously recognized, an unbroken four years' course for him. During the summer vacation, not only the first but the succeeding ones, he returned to the hay field, not merely as a means of earning money, but for its physical benefits as well. The second, third, and fourth years past like the first, except that he gradually turned from manual labor to tutoring. In his third year he found his income large enough to warrant him in filing away his skillet and stew-pan and joining a student boarding clubwhich bore the suggestive name of "The Struggle for Existence," commonly shortened to "The Struggle"-in which the average cost of meals for each man was a little more than two dollars per week. During this third year he paid his entire expenses from his current earnings.

Early in the third year, too, Paul began to consider the question of his life vocation. He wrote to Ned about it; and the drift of Ned's suggestions, as well as his own inclination, finally decided him to enter the ranks of newspaper workers. He furthermore determined that as soon as possible after graduation he would go West somewhere and settle down.

As Dr. Gardner had predicted-and the sooner because