We heard them speaking in low tones for some moments; then they came out, and both the old Squire and grandmother Ruth set off with Mrs.Sylvester.
"Is he ill ?" Theodora whispered to grandmother as the old lady passed her.
"No, child; he is melancholy this spring," the old lady replied.

"He is afraid he has committed the unpardonable sin." The old folks and our caller left us finishing our breakfast, and I recollect that for some time none of us spoke.

Our recent unseemly hilarity had vanished.
"What do you suppose Sylvester's done ?" Halstead asked at last, with a glance at Theodora; then, as she did not seem inclined to hazard conjectures on that subject, he addressed himself to Addison, who was trying to extract a second cup of coffee from the big coffeepot.
"You know everything, Addison, or think you do.

What is this unpardonable sin ?" "Cousin Halstead," Addison replied, not relishing the manner in which he had put the question, "you are likely enough to find that out for yourself if you don't mend some of your bad ways here." Halstead flamed up and muttered something about the self-righteousness of a certain member of the family; but Theodora then remarked tactfully that, as nearly as she could understand it, the unpardonable sin is something we do that can never be forgiven.
Some months before Elder Witham had preached a sermon in which he had set forth the doctrine of predestination and the unpardonable sin, but I have to confess that none of us could remember what he had said.
"I think it's in the Bible," Theodora added, and, going into the sitting-room, she fetched forth grandmother Ruth's concordance Bible and asked Addison to help her find the references.

Turning first to one text, then to another, for some minutes they read the passages aloud, but did not find anything conclusive.