POSITIVISM ON AN ISLAND. 



"They are not dead," said the professor; 

 " they still live on this holy and stupendous earth. 

 They live in the use we are making of all they 

 had got together. The owner of those chocolate- 

 creams is immortal because you are eating them." 



Virginia licked her lips, and said : 



" Nonsense ! " 



" It is not nonsense," said the professor ; " it 

 is the religion of Humanity." 



All day they were busy, and the time passed 

 pleasantly enough. Wines, provisions, books, 

 and China ornaments, were carried up to the cot- 

 tage and bestowed in proper places. Virginia 

 filled the glasses in the drawing-room with gor- 

 geous leaves and flowers ; and declared by the 

 evening, as she looked round her, that she could 

 almost fancy herself in St. John's Wood. 



" See," said the professor, " how rapid is the 

 progress of material civilization ! Humanity is 

 now entering on the fruits of ages. Before long 

 it will be in a position to be unspeakably happy." 



Virginia retired to bed early. The professor 

 took the curate out with him to look at the stars ; 

 and promised to lend him some writings of the 

 modern philosophers, which would make him 

 more perfect in the new view of things. They I 

 said good-night, murmuring together that there 

 was certainly no God, that Humanity was very 

 important, and that everything was very solemn. 



vm. 



Next morning the curate began studying a 

 number of essays that the professor loaned him, 

 all written by exact thinkers, who disbelieved in 

 God, and thought Humanity adorable and most 

 important. Virginia lay on the sofa, and sighed 

 over one of Miss Broughton's novels ; and it oc- 

 curred to the professor that the island was just 

 the place where, if anywhere, the missing link 

 might be found. 



" Ah ! " he exclaimed, " all is still progress. 

 Material progress came to an end yesterday ; men- 

 tal progress has begun to-day. One third of Hu- 

 manity is cultivating sentiment ; another third is 

 learning to covet truth ; I, the remaining and 

 most enlightened third, will go and seek it. Glo- 

 rious, solemn Humanity ! I will go and look about 

 for its arboreal ancestor." 



Every step the professor took he found the 

 island more beautiful ; but he came back to lunch- 

 eon, having been unsuccessful in his search. 

 Events had marched quickly in his absence. Vir- 

 ginia was at the beginning of her third volume ; 

 and the curate had skimmed over so many es- 



says that he professed himself able to give a thor- 

 ough account of the want of faith that was in 

 him. 



After luncheon the three sat together in easy- 

 chairs in the veranda, sometimes talking, some- 

 times falling into a half doze. They all agreed 

 that they were wonderfully comfortable, and the 

 professor said : 



" All Humanity is now at rest, and in utter 

 peace. It is just taking breath before it becomes 

 unspeakably and significantly happy." 



He would have said more, but he was here 

 startled by a piteous noise of crying, and the 

 three found themselves confronted by an old wom- 

 an, dripping with sea-water, and with an expres- 

 sion on her face of the utmost misery. They soon 

 recognized her as one of the passengers on the 

 ship. She told them how she had been floated 

 ashore on a spar, and how she had been sustained 

 by a little roast-pig, that kindly begged her to 

 eat it, having first lain in her bosom to restore 

 her to warmth. She was now looking for her 

 son. 



"And if I cannot find him," said the old 

 woman, " I shall never smile again. He has half 

 broken my heart," she went on, " by his wicked 

 ways. But if I thought he was dead — dead in 

 the midst of his sins — it would be broken alto- 

 gether : for in that case he must certainly be in 

 hell." 



" Old woman," said the professor, very slowly 

 and solemnly, " be comforted. I announce to you 

 that your son is alive." 



" Oh, bless you, sir, for that word ! " cried 

 the old woman. " But where is he ? Have you 

 seen him ? Are you sure that he is living ? " 



" I am sure of it," said the professor, " be- 

 cause enlightened thought shows me that he can- 

 not be anything else. It is true that I saw him 

 sink for a third time in the sea, and that he was 

 then snapped up by a shark. But he is as much 

 alive as ever in his posthumous activities. He 

 has made you wretched after him ; and that is 

 his future life. Become an exact thinker, and 

 you will see that this is so. Old woman," added 

 the professor, solemnly, " you are your son in 

 hell." 



At this the old woman flew into a terrible 

 rage. 



" In hell, sir ! " she exclaimed — " me in hell ! 

 — a poor, lone woman like me ! How dare you ? " 

 And she sank back in a chair, and fainted. 



" Alas ! " said the professor, " thus is misery 

 again introduced into the world. A fourth part 

 of Humanity is now miserable." 



