did the afflicted pontiff delay to
fulfil his pledge; long did he practise all the arts of dissimulation,
of which he was such a master. He delayed, he flattered, he entreated,
he coaxed. But the monarchs called peremptorily for the fulfilment of
his pledge, and all Europe now understood the nature of the contest.
It was between the Jesuits and the monarchs of Europe. Ganganelli was
compelled to give his decision. His health declined, his spirits
forsook him, his natural gayety fled. He courted solitude, he wept, he
prayed. But he must, nevertheless, decide. The Jesuits threatened
assassination, and exposed, with bitter eloquence, the ruin of his
church, if he yielded her privileges to kings. And kings threatened
secession from Rome, deposition--ten thousand calamities. His agony
became insupportable; but delay was no longer possible. He decided to
suppress the order of the Jesuits; and sixty-nine colleges were
closed, their missions were broken up, their churches were given to
their rivals, and twenty-two thousand priests were left without
organization, wealth, or power.

[Sidenote: Death of Ganganelli.]

Their revenge was not an idle threat. One day, the pope, on arising
from table, felt an internal shock, followed by great cold. Gradually
he lost his voice and strength. His blood became corrupted; and his
moral system gave way with the physical. He knew that he was
doomed--that he was poisoned--that he must die. The fear of hell was
now added to his other torments. "_Compulsus, feci, compulsus,
feci!_"--"O, mercy, mercy, I have been compelled!" he cried, and
died--died by that slow but sure poison, such as old Alexander VI.
knew so well how to administer to his victims when he sought their
wealth. Pope Clement XIV. inflicted, it was supposed, a mortal wound
upon his church and upon her best friends. He, indeed, reaped the
penalty of ambition; but the cause which he represented did not
perish, nor will it lose vitality so long as the principle of evil on
earth is destined to contend with the principle of good. On the
restoration of the Bourbons, the order of the Jesuits was restored;
and their flaming sword, with its double edge, was again felt in every
corner of the world.

[Sidenote: Death of Louis XV.]

The Jesuits, on their expulsion, found shelter in Prussia, and
protection from the royal infidel who had been the friend of Voltaire.
A schism between the crowned heads of Europe and infidel philosophers
had t