"Poor thing! But no doubt she is prepared to go, and the change will be a blessed one. From what you say, I should think she must be a good Christian according to her lights, and a man is accepted according to what he hath, and not according to what he hath not."
Amabel and I looked at each other surprised and half offended, while the good woman talked on, unconscious of offence, asking many questions and making many shrewd remarks.
We left her at last to rest a little before supper, and retired by ourselves to compare notes on our new acquaintance.
"Well, what do you think about her?" I asked.
"I like her," said Amabel with decision. "She is not like our sisters here, of course, but I think she is good and kind."
"Yes, it was nice in her to bring mother the coffee and sugar, and to give us these things," said I, examining the pretty and convenient "equipages" for the pocket which Mrs. Thorpe had presented to us. "But I did not like the way she spoke about dear mother."
"She is a Protestant, you know, and I suppose our ways are as strange to her, as hers are to us," replied Amabel. "Of course if they think they are right, they must believe we are wrong."
"But, Amabel, it seems that your aunts are Protestants," said I, for Mrs. Thorpe had told us as much. "How shall we get on with them?"
"It will be time enough to decide that when we are there," replied Amabel. "I don't think Protestants are all bad, Lucy. My mother was one, and so was yours, and I am sure she never taught us anything that was not good."
"Mother Superior says no Protestants will be saved except by reason of their invincible ignorance," I remarked, "or unless they are capable of acts of pure love to God, which are very difficult even to good Catholics. And besides, Amabel, our 'examination of conscience' says it is a betrayal of the Catholic Church to say that all religions are good, and that a man may be saved in one as well as another, and that it is a great sin even to read a heretical book or hear a heretical preacher. Now suppose that your aunts should insist on our going to the English Church with her—what shall we do?"