Itmayseemsevere——Ithinkthatitwassevere。ThateveningwhenMr。Taylorcamehometohisfamily，Georgereceivedathrashingfordisobedience。
“AndIsuppose，“saidMrs。Taylortoherhusband，“thatshecameoutjustintimetostop’embreakingBobCarmody’sneckforhim。“
UponthedayfollowingMrs。Tayloressayedtheimpossible。ShetookherselfovertoMollyWood’scabin。Thegirlgaveheralistlessgreeting，andthedamesatslowlydown，andsurveyedthecomfortableroom。
“Averynicehome，deary，“saidshe，“ifitwasahome。Butyou’llfixsomethinglikethisinyourrealhome，Ihavenodoubt。“
Mollymadenoanswer。
“Whatwe’regoingtodowithoutyouIcan’tsee，“saidMrs。
Taylor。“ButI’dnothaveitdifferentforworlds。He’llbecomingbacksoon，Iexpect。“
“Mrs。Taylor，“saidMolly，allatonce，“pleasedon’tsayanythingnow。Ican’tstandit。“Andshebrokeintowretchedtears。
“Why，deary，he——“
“No；notaword。Please，please——I’llgooutifyoudo。“
Theolderwomanwenttotheyoungerone，andthenputherarmsroundher。Butwhenthetearswereover，theyhadnotdoneanygood；itwasnotthestormthatclearsthesky——allstormsdonotclearthesky。AndMrs。Taylorlookedatthepalegirlandsawthatshecoulddonothingtohelphertowardpeaceofmind。
“Ofcourse，“shesaidtoherhusband，afterreturningfromherprofitlesserrand，“youmightknowshe’dfeeldreadful。
“Whatabout？“saidTaylor。
“Why，youknowjustaswellasIdo。AndI’llsayformyself，I
hopeyou’llneverhavetohelphangfolks。“
“Well，“saidTaylor，mildly，“ifIhadto，I’dhaveto，Iguess。“
“Well，Idon’twantittocome。Butthatpoorgirliseatingherheartrightoutoverit。“
“Whatdoesshesay？“
“It’swhatshedon’tsay。She’llnottalk，andshe’llnotletmetalk，andshesitsandsits。“
“I’llgotalksometoher，“saidtheman。
“Well，Taylor，Ithoughtyouhadmoresense。You’dnotgetawordin。She’llbesicksoonifherworryain’tstoppedsomeway，though。“
“Whatdoesshewantthiscountrytodo？“inquiredTaylor。“DoessheexpectittobelikeVermontwhenit——“
“Wecan’thelpwhatsheexpects，“hiswifeinterrupted。“ButI
wishwecouldhelpHER。“
Theycouldnot，however；andhelpcamefromanothersource。JudgeHenryrodebythenextday。TohimgoodMrs。Tayloratonceconfidedheranxiety。TheJudgelookedgrave。
“MustImeddle？“hesaid。
“Yes，Judge，youmust，“saidMrs。Taylor。
“Butwhycan’tIsendhimoverherewhenhegetsback？Thenthey’lljustsettleitbetweenthemselves。“
Mrs。Taylorshookherhead。“Thatwouldunsettleitworsethanitis，“sheassuredhim。“Theymustn’tmeetjustnow。“
TheJudgesighed。“Well，“hesaid，“verywellI’llsacrificemycharacter，sinceyouinsist。“
JudgeHenrysatthinking，waitinguntilschoolshouldbeout。Hedidnotatallrelishwhatlaybeforehim。Hewouldliketohavegotoutofit。Hehadbeenafederaljudge；hehadbeenanuprightjudge；hehadmettheresponsibilitiesofhisdifficultofficenotonlywithlearning，whichisdesirable，butalsowithcourageandcommonsensebesides，andtheseareessential。Hehadbeenastanchservantofthelaw。Andnowhewasinvitedtodefendthatwhich，atfirstsight，nay，evenatsecondandthirdsight，mustalwaysseemadefianceofthe1a\\vmoreinjuriousthancrimeitself。Everygoodmaninthisworldhasconvictionsaboutrightandwrong。Theyarehissoul’sriches，hisspiritualgold。Whenhisconductisatvariancewiththese，heknowsthatitisadeparture，afalling；andthisisasimpleandclearmatter。Iffallingwereallthateverhappenedtoagoodman，allhisdayswouldbeasimplematterof’strivingandrepentance。
Butitisnotall。Therecometohimcertainjunctures，crises，whenlife，likeahighwayman，springsuponhim，demandingthathestandanddeliverhisconvictionsinthenameofsomerighteouscause，biddinghimdoevilthatgoodmaycome。IcannotsaythatIbelieveindoingevilthatgoodmaycome。Idonot。Ithinkthatanymanwhohonestlyjustifiessuchcoursedeceiveshimself。
ButthisIcansay:tocallanyactevil，instantlybegsthequestion。Manyanactthatmandoesisrightorwrongaccordingtothetimeandplacewhichform，sotospeak，itscontext；stripitofitssurroundingcircumstances，andyoutearawayitsmeaning。Gentlemenreformers，bewareofthiscommonpracticeofyours！bewareofcallinganactevilonTuesdaybecausethatsameactwasevilonMonday！
Doyoufailtofollowmymeaning？Thenhereisanillustration。
OnMondayIwalkovermyneighbor’sfield；thereisnowronginsuchwalking。ByTuesdayhehasputupasignthattrespasserswillbeprosecutedaccordingtolaw。IwalkagainonTuesday，andamalaw-breaker。Doyoubegintoseemypoint？orareyouinclinedtoobjecttotheillustrationbecausethewalkingonTuesdaywasnotWRONG，butmerelyILLEGAL？Thenhereisanotherillustrationwhichyouwillfinditatriflemoreembarrassingtoanswer。Considercarefully，letmebegyou，thecaseofayoungmanandayoungwomanwhowalkoutofadooronTuesday，pronouncedmanandwifebyathirdpartyinsidethedoor。ItmattersnotthatonMondaytheywere，intheirownhearts，sacredlyvowedtoeachother。Iftheyhadomittedsteppinginsidethatdoor，iftheyhaddispensedwiththatthirdparty，andgoneawayonMondaysacredlyvowedtoeachotherintheirownhearts，youwouldhavescarcelyfoundtheirconductmoral。Considerthesethingscarefully，——thesign-postandthethirdparty，——andthedifferencetheymake。Andnow，forafinish，wewillreturntothesign-post。
SupposethatIwentovermyneighbor’sfieldonTuesday，afterthesign-postwasputup，becauseIsawamurderabouttobecommittedinthefield，andthereforeraninandstoppedit。WasIdoingevilthatgoodmightcome？Doyounotthinkthattostayoutandletthemurderbedonewouldhavebeentheevilactinthiscase？Todisobeythesign-postwasRIGHT；andItrustthatyounowperceivethesameactmaywearasmanydifferenthuesofrightorwrongastherainbow，accordingtotheatmosphereinwhichitisdone。Itisnotsafetosayofanyman，“Hedidevilthatgoodmightcome。“Wasthethingthathedid，inthefirstplace，evil？Thatisthequestion。
Forgivemyaskingyoutouseyourmind。Itisathingwhichnonovelistshouldexpectofhisreader，andwewillgobackatoncetoJudgeHenryandhismeditationsaboutlynching。
HewaswellawarethatifhewastotouchatalluponthissubjectwiththeNewEnglandgirl，hecouldnotputheroffwithmereplatitudesandhumdrumformulas；not，atleast，ifheexpectedtodoanygood。Shewasfartoointelligent，andhewasreallyanxioustodogood。Forhersakehewantedthecourseofthegirl’struelovetorunmoresmoothly，andstillmoredidhedesirethisforthesakeofhisVirginian。
“Isenthimmyselfonthatbusiness，“theJudgereflecteduncomfortably。“Iampartlyresponsibleforthelynching。IthasbroughthimonegreatunhappinessalreadythroughthedeathofSteve。Ifitgetsrunninginthisgirl’smind，shemay——dearme！“
theJudgebrokeoff，“whatanuisance！“Andhesighed。Forasallmenknow，healsoknewthatmanythingsshouldbedoneinthisworldinsilence，andthattalkingaboutthemisamistake。
Butwhenschoolwasout，andthegirlgonetohercabin，hismindhadsetthesubjectinorderthoroughly，andheknockedatherdoor，ready，ashehadputit，tosacrificehischaracterinthecauseoftruelove。
“Well，“hesaid，comingstraighttothepoint，“somedarkthingshavehappened。“Andwhenshemadenoanswertothis，hecontinued:“Butyoumustnotmisunderstandus。We’retoofondofyouforthat。“
“JudgeHenry，“saidMollyWood，alsocomingstraighttothepoint，“haveyoucometotellmethatyouthinkwelloflynching？“
Hemether。“OfburningSouthernnegroesinpublic，no。OfhangingWyomingcattlethievesinprivate，yes。Youperceivethere’sadifference，don’tyou？“
“Notinprinciple，“saidthegirl，dryandshort。
“Oh——dear——me！“slowlyexclaimedtheJudge。“Iamsorrythatyoucannotseethat，becauseIthinkthatIcan。AndIthinkthatyouhavejustasmuchsenseasIhave。“TheJudgemadehimselfverygraveandverygood-humoredatthesametime。Thepoorgirlwasstrungtoahighpitch，andspokeharshlyinspiteofherself。
“Whatisthedifferenceinprinciple？“shedemanded。
“Well，“saidtheJudge，easyandthoughtful，“whatdoyoumeanbyprinciple？“
“Ididn’tthinkyou’dquibble，“flashedMolly。“I’mnotalawyermyself。“
AmanlesswisethanJudgeHenrywouldhavesmiledatthis，andthenwarwouldhaveexplodedhopelesslybetweenthem，andharmbeenaddedtowhatwasgoingwrongalready。ButtheJudgeknewthathemustgivetoeverywordthatthegirlsaidnowhisperfectconsideration。
“Idon’tmeantoquibble，“heassuredher。“Iknowthetrickofescapingfromonequestionbyaskinganother。ButIdon’twanttoescapefromanythingyouholdmetoanswer。IfyoucanshowmethatIamwrong，Iwantyoutodoso。But，“andheretheJudgesmiled，“Iwantyoutoplayfair，too。“
“AndhowamInot？“
“IwantyoutobejustaswillingtobeputrightbymeasIamtobeputrightbyyou。Andsowhenyouusesuchawordasprinciple，youmusthelpmetoanswerbysayingwhatprincipleyoumean。ForinallsincerityIseenolikenessinprinciplewhateverbetweenburningSouthernnegroesinpublicandhangingWyominghorse-thievesinprivate。IconsidertheburningaproofthattheSouthissemi-barbarous，andthehangingaproofthatWyomingisdeterminedtobecomecivilized。Wedonottortureourcriminalswhenwelynchthem。Wedonotinvitespectatorstoenjoytheirdeathagony。WeputnosuchhideousdisgraceupontheUnitedStates。Weexecuteourcriminalsbytheswiftestmeans，andinthequietestway。Doyouthinktheprincipleisthesame？“
Mollyhadlistenedtohimwithattention。“Thewayisdifferent，“
sheadmitted。
“Onlytheway？“
“Soitseemstome。Bothdefylawandorder。
“Ah，butdotheyboth？Nowwe’regettingneartheprinciple。“
“Why，yes。Ordinarycitizenstakethelawintheirownhands。“
“Theprincipleatlast！“exclaimedtheJudge。
“Nowtellmesomemorethings。Outofwhosehandsdotheytakethe1aw？“
“Thecourt’s。“
“Whatmadethecourts？“
“Idon’tunderstand。“
“Howdidtherecometobeanycourts？“
“TheConstitution。“
“HowdidtherecometobeanyConstitution？Whomadeit？“
“Thedelegates，Isuppose。“
“Whomadethedelegates？“
“Isupposetheywereelected，orappointed，orsomething。
“Andwhoelectedthem？“
“Ofcoursethepeopleelectedthem。“
“Callthemtheordinarycitizens，“saidtheJudge。“Ilikeyourterm。Theyarewherethelawcomesfrom，yousee。FortheychosethedelegateswhomadetheConstitutionthatprovidedforthecourts。There’syourmachinery。Thesearethehandsintowhichordinarycitizenshaveputthelaw。Soyousee，atbest，whentheylynchtheyonlytakebackwhattheyoncegave。Nowwe’lltakeyourtwocasesthatyousayarethesameinprinciple。I
thinkthattheyarenot。ForintheSouththeytakeanegrofromjailwherehewaswaitingtobedulyhung。TheSouthhasneverclaimedthatthelawwouldlethimgo。ButinWyomingthelawhasbeenlettingourcattle-thievesgofortwoyears。Weareinaverybadway，andwearetryingtomakethatwayalittlebetteruntilcivilizationcanreachus。Atpresentweliebeyonditspale。Thecourts，orratherthejuries，intowhosehandswehaveputthelaw，arenotdealingthelaw。Theyarewitheredhands，orrathertheyareimitationhandsmadeforshow，withnolifeinthem，nogrip。Theycannotholdacattle-thief。Andsowhenyourordinarycitizenseesthis，andseesthathehasplacedjusticeinadeadhand，hemusttakejusticebackintohisownhandswhereitwasonceatthebeginningofallthings。Callthisprimitive，ifyouwill。ButsofarfrombeingaDEFIANCEofthelaw，itisanASSERTIONofit——thefundamentalassertionofselfgoverningmen，uponwhomourwholesocialfabricisbased。
Thereisyourprinciple，MissWood，asIseeit。Nowcanyouhelpmetoseeanythingdifferent？“
Shecouldnot。