"Listen quietly to me for a few minutes. The idea came gradual to me. I got on the track six months ago. First of all, it was the ten gross of religious books I had down in the shop. They were of all sorts. Which was the one that went best? Why, it was _The Adventures of Susan Lefever, the Captive Nun_. I sold 'em all out in no time. The next best seller was _The Revelations of Pastor Coucherrousset, the Converted Catholic Priest_. Anything against Rome! Mr. Leatherbarrow, of the New Connection Methodists, preached three times on those books. He had all the congregation fair shaking with indignation against the Scarlet Woman. You see it's like this. People want a cock-shy. They don't much care about what it is, as long as they've got it--see the way they're down on the Sheenies in France. Now a religious cock-shy is the best of all. It gives people a feeling that they're in real earnest, and they can kid themselves and other people that it's more disinterested than politics, for instance. They've nothing to get by it--except the fun of doing it--and that flatters 'em because they're always on the grab in every other way. See?" Sam nodded. He was not one of those youths who despise the words of parental wisdom. He was not himself a fool, and so he did not fall into the mistake of underrating his father's capacity and knowledge of life. The small and vulgar triumphs of Hamlyn's career were all appreciated and noted by his son, who had a sincere respect for him. "Very well, then," Hamlyn continued. "It's a sure draw, all over England, to raise the anti-popery cry. The wholesale trade tell me that the business done in Fox's _Book of Martyrs_ is a perfect knock-out year by year, and there's a sure sale for the smaller books about the priests larking with the girls in the confessional and so forth. Anything with 'Secret History' or 'Jesuit' on the title-page 'll sell like the _Evening News_ on Derby Day. Now, I've been reading all the publications of the regular Protestant societies during the last few weeks. Plenty of cuts at the Ritualists, lots of little sixpennies bound in cloth to prove as there isn't no such thing as apostolic succession, that wafers is illegal, and the Eastern position rather worse than arson. They're all very well in their way, but they're written by D.D.'s and M.A.'s and such like, who don't care to go too far. I have a list in my portfolio here of the regular Protestant writers--nearly all _class_, my boy. Listen here: "_Transubstantiation and the Invocation of Saints._ Rev. J. Cummer, Canon Residentiary of Ironpool. "_Popery the Work of 'the Adversary,'--the Roman Clergy under Satanic Influence._ Rev. R. S. Blanken, LL.D., incumbent of Christ Church, Oxton. "_Ritualism in the English Church: A Word of Warning._ Rev. Joshua Cafe, D.D., prebendary of Bath and Wells.