hem the
crucifix which she had carried off, and before which the three innocent
victims renewed their tears, imprecated Heaven's vengeance on the
insolent ravisher, and prayed that he might be miraculously punished.
She told her parents, that although she had no wish to know the name of
him at whose hands she had received such cruel wrong, yet if they
thought fit to make such a discovery, they might do so by means of the
crucifix, by directing the sacristans of the several parishes in the
city to announce from the pulpits that whoever had lost such an image
would find it in the hands of a certain monk whom he should name. By
this means, they would discover their enemy in the person of the owner
of the crucifix.

"That would be very well, my child," replied her father, "if your plan
were not liable to be frustrated by ordinary cunning; but no doubt this
image has been already missed by its owner, and he will have set it down
for certain that it was taken out of the room by the person he locked up
there. To give him notice that the crucifix was in the hands of a
certain monk would only serve to make known the person who deposited it
in such keeping, but not to make the owner declare himself; for the
latter might send another person for it, and furnish him with all the
particulars by which he should identify it. Thus you see we should only
damage ourselves without obtaining the information we sought; though to
be sure we might employ the same artifice on our side, and deposit the
image with the monk through a third hand. What you had best do, my
child, is to keep it, and pray to it, that since it was a witness to
your undoing, it will deign to vindicate your cause by its righteous
judgment. Bear in mind, my child, that an ounce of public dishonour
outweighs a quintal of secret infamy; and since, by the blessing of God,
you can live in honour before the public eye, let it not distress you so
much to be dishonoured in your ownself in secret. Real dishonour
consists in sin, and real honour in virtue. There are three ways of
offending God; by thought, word, and deed; but since neither in thought,
nor in word, nor in deed have you offended, look upon yourself as a
person of unsullied honour, as I shall always do, who will never cease
to regard you with the affection of a father."

Thus did this humane and right-minded father comfort his unhappy
daughter; and her mother embracing her again did all she could to soothe
her feeli