"Why so?"
"Because," he replies, "our Russian faith is the most correct, and as the ancestors have believed, so, also, should the descendants believe."
"You do not know our faith," say the Englishmen; "we hold to the same Christian law and the same Gospels."
"The Gospels," replies the left-handed man, "are, indeed, the same among all, but our books are thicker than yours, and our faith is more complete, also."
"How do you make that out?"
"Because," he replies, "we possess all the visible proofs."
"What proofs?"
"These," says he: "that we have God-sent holy images, and grave-oozing heads,[31] and relics, but you have nothing, and even no extra holidays, nothing beyond Sunday; and for the second reason, even if I were married to an Englishwoman, it would confuse me to live with her."
"Why so?" they ask. "Do not scorn her—our women also dress very neatly and are good housewives."