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Interlude
Tom,whydon’tyoubecomeaCatholic?Ofcoursetobeagoodoneyou’dhavetogiveupthoseviolentintriguesyouusedtotellmeabout,butyou’dwritebetterpoetryifyouwerelinkeduptotallgoldencandlesticksandlong,evenchants,andeveniftheAmericanpriestsareratherburgeois,asBeatriceusedtosay,stillyouneedonlygotothesportychurches,andI’llintroduceyoutoMonsignorDarcywhoreallyisawonder.
Kerry’sdeathwasablow,sowasJesse’stoacertainextent.AndIhaveagreatcuriositytoknowwhatqueercorneroftheworldhasswallowedBurne.Doyousupposehe’sinprisonundersomefalsename?Iconfessthatthewarinsteadofmakingmeorthodox,whichisthecorrectreaction,hasmademeapassionateagnostic.TheCatholicChurchhashaditswingsclippedsooftenlatelythatitspartwastimidlynegligible,andtheyhaven’tanygoodwritersanymore.I’msickofChesterton.
I’veonlydiscoveredonesoldierwhopassedthroughthemuch-advertisedspiritualcrisis,likethisfellow,DonaldHankey,andtheoneIknewwasalreadystudyingfortheministry,sohewasripeforit.Ihonestlythinkthat’sallprettymuchrot,thoughitseemedtogivesentimentalcomforttothoseathome;andmaymakefathersandmothersappreciatetheirchildren.Thiscrisis-inspiredreligionisrathervaluelessandfleetingatbest.IthinkfourmenhavediscoveredParistoonethatdiscoveredGod
