put a nun _in pace_. "He sighed "--but
did nothing. The _Vicaire-General_ did not sigh, but sided with the
party against the nun: his _ultimatum_ was that she should die of
hunger, or return to her dungeon.

Who showed himself the real bishop in this business?--The Magistrate.
Who was the real priest? The Advocate, a studious young man, whom
science had withdrawn from the bar, but who, seeing this unfortunate
woman devoid of all succour, for whom no one durst either print or
plead (under the ridiculous system of terror), took up the affair,
spoke, wrote, and acted; taking every necessary step, making journeys
in the depth of winter, and sacrificing both his money and his
time--six months of his life. May God pay him back with interest!

Which is the good Samaritan in this case? Who proved himself the
neighbour of the wretched woman? Who picked up the bleeding victim
from the road, before whom the Pharisees had passed? Who is the real
priest, the true father?

A witty writer of the day uses the term _my fathers_, in speaking of
the magistrates who interpose in the affairs of the Church. He speaks
deridingly, but they deserve the name. Who bestows it upon them? The
afflicted who are the members of Christ, and who, as such, are also the
Church, I should think. Yes, they call them _fathers_ on account of
their paternal equity. Their helpful interposition had too long been
repelled from the threshold of the convents by these crafty words:
"_What are you going to do_? Should you enter here, you would disturb
the peace of these quiet asylums, and startle these timid virgins!"
Why! they themselves call for our assistance: we hear their shrieks
from the streets!

All of us laymen, of whatever denomination, whether magistrates,
politicians, authors, or solitary thinkers, ought to take up the cause
of women more seriously than we have hitherto done.

We cannot leave them where they now are, in hands so harsh and
unfeeling, and which are, moreover, unsafe in more than one respect.

Nothing can be more important or more worthy of uniting us together.

Let us, I pray you, come to an understanding about it; it is the most
holy of all causes: let there be then a cessation from religious
strife. We can recommence our disputes afterwards as much as we please.

And first let us frankly confess the truth to one another. The evil
when confessed and known has a better chance of being remedied. Whom
ought we to accus