THE PRAGMATIST
"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
"He that ... speaketh the truth in his heart."
As he lay dying, he shuddered at the thought of his lifelong duplicity. He had always worn a mask; he had never been his true self. In the isolation of the sick-room he faced the facts with horror. He had been a hypocrite since the beginning of his conscious life.
And yet, as he went wearily over the years behind him, it seemed that as each day had come.upon lim, the long fraud had been necessary. The time had never come when he dared lay it aside and be himself. Thrown constantly with weak and wavering souls, tt had seemed impossible not to pretend to a courage and certainty he could not feel. Passing his life among fretful complaints, he had felt so keenly the need of serenity and faith that he had counterfeited them, ransoming from doubt those he loved, with false moneys of a calm he himself dared not trust.
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