his presence were still echoing in the Secretary's
ears, and his anger had scarce begun to cool.

"We are patient, my Cardinal-Nephew," the Pontiff resumed mildly. "Our
love for this erring son enfolds him." Then, turning again to Jose,
"We have correctly summarized the causes of your recent conduct, have
we not?"

The priest made as if to reply, but hesitated, with the words
fluttering on his lips.

"My dear son"--the Holy Father bent toward the wondering priest in an
attitude of loving solicitation--"our blessed Saviour was ofttimes
confronted with those possessed of demons. Did he reject them? No;
and, despite the accusations against us in your writings, for which we
know you were not morally responsible, we, Christ's representative on
earth, are still touched with his love and pity for one so unfortunate
as you. With your help we shall stop the mouths of calumny, and set
you right before the world. We shall use our great resources to save
the Rincon honor which, through the working of Satan within you, is
now unjustly besmirched. We shall labor to restore you to your right
mind, and to the usefulness which your scholarly gifts make possible
to you. We indeed rejoice that your piteous appeal has reached our
ears. We rejoice to correct those erroneous views which you, in the
temporary aberration of reason, were driven to commit to writing, and
which so unfortunately fell into the hands of Satan's alert
emissaries. Your ravings during these weeks of delirium shed much
light upon the obsessing thoughts which plunged you into mild
insanity. And they have stirred the immeasurable depths of pity within
us."

The Holy Father paused after this unwontedly long speech. A dumb sense
of stupefaction seemed to possess the priest, and he passed his
shrunken hands before his eyes as if he would brush away a mist.

"That this unfortunate book is but the uttering of delirium, we have
already announced to the world," His Holiness gently continued. "But
out of our deep love for a family which has supplied so many
illustrious sons to our beloved Church we have suppressed mention of
your name in connection therewith."

The priest started, as he vaguely sensed the impending issue. What was
it that His Holiness was about to demand? That he denounce his
journal, over his own signature, as the ravings of a man temporarily
insane? He was well aware that the Vatican's mere denial of the
allegations therein contained, and its attributin