David flushed, without, however, changing his position, and Lucy made a sudden commotion among the teacups. 'Father,' she said, with a hurried agitation which hardly allowed her to pick up the cup she had thrown over, 'Dora and I want to speak to you. You mustn't talk business at tea. Oh, I _know_ you won't let me go; but I _should_ like it, and Dora's come to ask. I shouldn't want a new dress, and it will be _most_ respectable, everyone says; and I _did_ learn dancing at school, though you didn't know it. Miss Georgina said it was stuff and nonsense, and I must--' 'What _is_ she talking about?' said Purcell to Dora, with an angry glance at Lucy. 'I want to take her to a dance,' said Dora quietly, 'if you would let her come. There's one at the Mechanics' Institute next week, given by the Unicorn benefit society. Mrs. Alderman Head said I might go with her, and Lucy too if you'll let her come. I've got a ticket.' 'I'm much obliged to Mrs. Alderman Head,' said Purcell sarcastically. 'Lucy knows very well what I think of an unchristian and immodest amusement. Other people must decide according to their conscience, _I_ judge nobody.' At this point David got up, and disappeared into the shop. 'Oh yes, you do judge, uncle,' cried Dora, roused at last, and colouring. 'You're always judging. You call everything unchristian you don't like, whether its dancing, or--or--early celebration, or organ music, or altar-cloths. But you can't be always right--nobody can.' Purcell surveyed her with a grim composure. 'If you suppose I make any pretence to be infallible, you are quite mistaken,' he said, with slow solemnity--no one in disclaiming Papistry could have been more the Pope--'I leave that to your priests at St. Damian's, Dora. But there _is_ an infallible guide, both for you and for me, and that's the Holy Scriptures. If you can show me any place where the _Bible_ approves of promiscuous dancing between young Christian men and women, or of a woman exposing her person for admiration's sake, or of such vain and idle talking as is produced by these entertainments, I will let Lucy go. But you can't. "Whose adorning let it not be--"' And he quoted the Petrine admonition with a harsh triumphant emphasis on every syllable, looking hard all the time at Dora, who had risen, and stood confronting him in a tremor of impatience and disagreement. 'Father Russell--' she began quickly, then changed her form of expression--'Mr. Russell says you can't settle things by just quoting a text. The Bible has to be explained, he says.'