-be-forgotten words: 'Bury me elsewhere; here lies the body of
San Frediano.'"

Baldassare, who had grown very pale, now shuddered visibly, and
contemplated the cavaliere with awe.

"Stupendous!" he muttered--"prodigious!--Indeed!"

Enrica did not speak; her eyes were fixed on the ground.

"Yes, yes, you may well say prodigious," responded Trenta, bowing his
white head; then, looking round triumphantly: "It was prodigious,
but a prodigy, remember, vouched for by the chronicles of the Church.
(Chronicles of the Church are much more to be trusted than any thing
else, much more than Evangelists, who were not bishops, and therefore
had no authority--we all know that.) No sooner, my friends, had the
corpse of the lady of the Manzi family spoken, as I have said, than
diligent search was made by those assembled in the church, when
lo!--within the open vault the remains of the adorable San Frediano
were discovered in excellent preservation. I need not say that, having
died in the odor of sanctity, the most fragrant perfume filled the
church, and penetrated even to the adjacent streets. Several sick
persons were healed by merely inhaling it. One man, whose arm had been
shot off at the shoulder-joint many years before, found his limb
come again in an instant, by merely touching the blessed relic." The
cavaliere paused to take breath. No one had spoken.--"Have you heard
the miracle of the glorious San Frediano?" asked Trenta, a little
timidly, raising his voice to its utmost pitch as he addressed Count
Marescotti.

"No, I have not, cavaliere; but, if I had, it would not alter my
opinion. I do not believe in mediaeval miracles." As he spoke, Count
Marescotti turned round from the steps of a side-altar, whither he had
wandered to look at a picture. "I did not hear one word you said, my
dear cavaliere, but I am acquainted with the supposed miracles of San
Frediano. They are entirely without evidence, and in no way shake my
conclusions as to the utter worthlessness of such legends. In this
I agree with the Protestants," he continued, "rather than with that
inspired teacher, Savonarola. The Protestants, spite of so-called
'ecclesiastical authority,' persist in denying them. With the
Protestants, I hold that the entire machinery of modern miracles is
false and unprofitable. With the Apostles miraculous power ended."

"Marescotti!" ejaculated the poor cavaliere, aghast at the effect his
appeal had produced, "for God's sake, don't,