To those readers who are perfectly irreligious and can’t see the point at

all, as well as to those (ahem) who see the point but aren’t as pious as

they wish they were, I commend this piece from the Daily Telegraph.

What happened to Mrs. Witchalls is about as bad as a thing can be. Her

faith is seeing her through it with a smile and words of forgiveness.

I swear this must be constitutional. I could no more exhibit that kind of

spiritual strength than I could run 100 meters in 9.4 seconds, or solve the

Riemann Hypothesis, or play the fiddle like Jascha Heifetz. I know a lot of

you disagree, but I line up with Tom Utley here. Admire? Sure. Emulate?

No way.

(And, as a matter of fact, even my admiration is a bit qualified — not so

far as Mrs. Witchalls’s ability to handle the situations, which is a shining

example to us all, but in regard to the turn-the-other-cheek stuff. I think

the bastard who did that should swing for it. In fact, it seems he has

already committed suicide, which is better than he deserves.)