"Because Christianity is this creed!—'embodied in a tale.' And mankind must have tales and symbols."
"And the life of Christ is your symbol?"
"More!—it is our Sacrament—the supreme Sacrament—to which all other symbols of the same kind lead—in which they are summed up."
"And that is why you make so much of the Eucharist?"
"It is—to us—just as full of mystical meaning, just as much the meeting-place of God and man, as to the Catholic—Roman or Anglican."
"Strange that there should be so many of you!" said Norham, after a moment, with an incredulous smile.
"Yes—that has been the discovery of the last six months. But we might all have guessed it. The fuel has been long laid—now comes the kindling, and the blaze!"
There was a pause. Then Norham said abruptly—
"Now what is it you want of Parliament?"
The two men plunged into a discussion, in which the politician became presently aware that the parish priest, the visionary, possessed a surprising amount of practical and statesman-like ability.