t would be no easy task for us at
the present moment to impugn the doctrines broached by our assailant;
for the fellow has a troublesome facility of supporting what he says by
the Bible. Believe me, in this matter, our only way of righting
ourselves will be to convict him of scandal against the highest
dignitaries of the Church.'

'The order that we have lately received to track his movements and
listen to his discourses, leads me to believe that our superiors are of
your opinion.'

'Whether my convictions are correct or not, of this I feel
assured--that his days of liberty are numbered. It was but a few hours
ago that I saw the bishop's chamberlain's head-assistant, and he told
me that he had heard, through the crevice of a door--'

'Hush! he moves; he is pressing forward to enter the church. You can
tell me what you were about to say as we follow him. Quick! let us mix
with the crowd.'

Ever enthusiastic in the performance of their loathsome duties, these
two discreet pastors of a Christian flock followed Numerian with the
most elaborate caution into the interior of the sacred building.

Although the sun still left a faint streak of red in the western sky,
and the moon had as yet scarcely risen, the great chandelier of two
thousand four hundred lamps, mentioned by the bishop in his address to
the people, was already alight. In the days of its severe and sacred
beauty, the appearance of the church would have suffered fatally by
this blaze of artificial brilliancy; but now that the ancient character
of the basilica was completely changed, now that from a solemn temple
it had been altered to the semblance of a luxurious palace, it gained
immensely by its gaudy illumination. Not an ornament along the vast
extent of its glorious nave but glittered in vivid distinctness in the
dazzling light that poured downwards from the roof. The gilded
rafters, the smooth inlaid marble pillars, the rich hangings of the
windows, the jewelled candlesticks on the altars, the pictures, the
statues, the bronzes, the mosaics, each and all glowed with a steady
and luxurious transparency absolutely intoxicating to the eye. Not a
trace of wear, not a vestige of tarnish now appeared on any object.
Each portion of the nave to which the attention was directed appeared
too finely, spotlessly radiant, ever to have been touched by mortal
hands. Entranced and bewildered, the observation roamed over the
surface of the brilliant scene, unti