Page:Idalia, by 'Ouida' volume 2.djvu/137

126 "'Conservative'! To reverence the divinity of rust and of corruption—to rivet afresh the chains of tradition and of superstition—to bind the free limbs of living men in the fetters of the past—to turn blind eyes from the light, and deny to thirsty lips the waters of truth—to say to the crowned fool, 'You are God's elect,' and to the poor, 'You are beasts of burden, only not, like other beasts, worthy shelter or fodder—to cling to fakehood, and to loathe reason;—this is what it is to be 'Conservative'! Do you, who love freedom like any son of the desert, subscribe to such a creed as that?"

Now he saw her as those saw her who were subdued to her will, till no sense was left them save to think as she thought, and to do as she bade. The magic of the voice, the charm of the eloquence, the spell of the fearless truths, uttered with an imperial command, wrought on him as they had always done on others—as they could not fail to do on any man with a heart to thrill and a soul to be moved.

"I will believe what you believe!" he cried, passionately. "You are my creed; I have forgotten all others."

The brilliant fire which had been upon her face as she spoke, faded.