Adelaide answered for him:
"Certainly he has: I have his promise."
"That is well," said the Advocate. "I am glad to see you looking so bright, Christian."
"You have not derived much benefit from your holiday," said Christian Almer, gazing at the Advocate's pale face. "Was it wise to take upon yourself the weight of so harassing a trial?"
"Do we always do what is wise?" asked the Advocate, with a smile in which there was no light.
"But seldom, I should say," replied Almer. "I once had great faith in the power of Will; but I am beginning to believe that we are as completely slaves to independent forces as feathers in a fierce wind: driven this way or that in spite of ourselves. Not inward, but outward magnetism rules us. Perhaps the best plan is to submit without a struggle."
"Of course it is," said Adelaide with a bright look, "if it is pleasant to submit. It is ridiculous to make one's head ache over things. I can teach you, in a word, a wiser lesson than either of you have ever learnt."
"What is that word, Adelaide?" asked the Advocate.
"Enjoy," she replied.
"A butterfly's philosophy. What say you, Christian? Shall we follow the teaching of this Solon in petticoats?"