ment from
all passion and pride, and by pure prayer for the deliverance from this
error, and from the deluding gift."

"That signifies," answered Edmond passionately and bitterly, "I ought
to entreat the Lord to withdraw from me, I ought to pray to him to
remain far away from me; in order to become godly, I must commence with
consummate impiety. Is it thus that a priest of the Lord can exhort and
counsel? but thus they are, thus they speak, these persecutors. And if
they be but consistent, they must also entirely deny the miracles of
their church, nay, even censure sacred Scripture as a lie."

"You have not indeed completely understood me, young man," answered the
priest. "May not the ardour of love kindle so intensely, that the
matter, the obscurity, the nothingness in us, may become temporally
annihilated, and our speech, with the Lord's permission working in his
strength may issue forth? That this may be possible, the example of the
apostles teaches us, the prophets bear witness; that many great saints
whom the world venerated, may have thus spoken and worked, is certainly
credible.--And thus belief may move and elevate, it may be a positive
crime to mock reservation,--but what can this avail true religion, or
its mysteries? How weak would it be, if these supports, as I have
already said, were indispensable to it! The miracle of all miracles, my
young friend, is the great moment which is revealed to all sinning,
hapless mortals in their limited life, when the lord himself advances
to meet the penitent, the indifferent, and creates his heart anew. This
metamorphosis is more wonderful incomprehensible, and more mysterious
than all the overthrows of the laws of nature, which attract the eye
searching for miracles, for here out of nothing something is brought
forth, out of death, suddenly like a flash of lightning, life is
created."

They were disturbed at this moment by several peasants, who were
begging directions from their priest how to proceed respecting the
approaching festival and procession. Edmond in the mean while walked
about the little garden, variously excited and inclined to
contemplation, for his earlier youth had been recalled to his
remembrance, many of his father's words, many of his early
instructor's, his mother's admonitions were again revived within him.
The clergyman returned after a short time and said: "Still I must ever
lovingly admire the human mind, when it preserves itself pure, and so
ma