Page:My Dear Cornelia (1924).pdf/262

 said Cornelia. "Saint Paul was in the central religious tradition of the world: what Newman calls the 'classical' religion, the formative power in what he calls our 'classical' Western civilization. It means so much to be central and not eccentric."

"Was Saint Paul 'central' when he appeared in Rome?" asked the incorrigible youth.

"You answer him, Mr. Blakewell," said Cornelia.

"I think," said the young man quietly and seriously, "that Saint Paul was central wherever he appeared."

"I see," said Oliver.

At the same instant he and Dorothy exchanged winks; and all this arguing abruptly ceased. Then we strolled into the garden, where I was urged to light my cigar. We examined the water lilies under the fountain, and the various exotic plants which Ethelwyn's gardeners had persuaded to perfume the air. Cornelia put a sprig of heliotrope in my buttonhole, smilingly quoting a line of The Winter's Tale about flowers for my "time of day." Presently the children, with Father Blakewell and their Aunt Alice, returned to the court, where the mah jongg outfit had been set out in place of the dinner-table and a