The conference had been
put off to a later hour on account of Melmoth's funeral, so Castanier
arrived just as the great preacher was epitomizing the proofs of a
future existence of happiness with all the charm of eloquence and
force of expression which have made him famous. The seeds of divine
doctrine fell into a soil prepared for them in the old dragoon, into
whom the Devil had glided. Indeed, if there is a phenomenon well
attested by experience, is it not the spiritual phenomenon commonly
called "the faith of the peasant"? The strength of belief varies
inversely with the amount of use that a man has made of his reasoning
faculties. Simple people and soldiers belong to the unreasoning class.
Those who have marched through life beneath the banner of instinct are
far more ready to receive the light than minds and hearts overwearied
with the world's sophistries.
Castanier had the southern temperament; he had joined the army as a
lad of sixteen, and had followed the French flag till he was nearly
forty years old. As a common trooper, he had fought day and night, and
day after day, and, as in duty bound, had thought of his horse first,
and of himself afterwards. While he served his military
apprenticeship, therefore, he had but little leisure in which to
reflect on the destiny of man, and when he became an officer he had
his men to think of.
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