arm of my little friend, the other
day."

"What does that priest think of me, for having put to me such questions?"

My wife answered: "I will go to the priest and will teach him a lesson. I
have noticed myself that he goes too far when questioning old people, but I
had the hope he was more prudent with children. I ask of you, however,
never to speak of this to anybody, especially; let not your poor father
know anything about it; for he has little enough of religion already, and
this would leave him without any at all."

"I could not refrain myself any longer: I abruptly entered the parlor. My
daughter threw herself into my arms: my wife screamed with terror, and
almost fell into a swoon. I said to my child: If you love me, put your hand
on my heart, and promise never to go again to confess. Fear God, my child,
love Him and walk in his presence. For his eyes see you everywhere.
Remember that He is always ready to forgive and bless you every time you
turn your heart to him. Never place yourself again at the feet of a priest
to be defiled and degraded."

"This my daughter promised to me.

"When my wife had recovered from her surprise, I told her.

"Madame, it is long since the priest is everything, and your husband
nothing to you! There is a hidden and terrible power which governs you, it
is the power of the priest: this you have often denied, but it can not be
denied any longer, the Providence of God has decided, to day, that this
power should forever be destroyed in my house, I want to be the only ruler
of my family: from this moment the power of the priest over you is forever
abolished. Whenever you go and take your heart and your secrets to the feet
of the priest, be so kind as not to come back any more into my house as my
wife."

This is one of the thousand and thousand specimens of the peace of
conscience brought to the soul through auricular confession. I could give
many similar instances, if it were my intention to publish a treatise on
this subject, but as I only desire to write a short chapter, I will adduce
but one other fact to show the awful deception practised by the Church of
Rome when she invites persons to come to confession under the pretext that
_peace_ to the soul will be the reward of their obedience. Let us hear the
testimony of another living and unimpeachable witness about this peace of
the soul, before, during, and after auricular confession. In her remarkable
book "Personal experience of R