dead mother, and at last assured me, in a voice of the deepest
conviction, that she had frequently appeared to him, had threatened him
with all the torments of the damned, if he did not disinherit his son,
who had fallen away from God, and leave all his property to the Church.
Now I do not believe in ghosts."

"Neither do I," the police director replied, "but I cannot well do
anything on such grounds, having nothing but superstitions to go upon.
You know how the Church rules all our affairs since the Concordat with
Rome, and if I investigate this matter and obtain no results, I am
risking my post. It would be very different if you could adduce any
proofs for your suspicions. I do not deny that I should like to see the
clerical party, which will, I fear, be the ruin of Austria, receive a
staggering blow; try, therefore, to get to the bottom of this business,
and then we will talk it over again."

About a month passed, without the young Latitudinarian being heard of.
Suddenly, he came one evening, in a great state of excitement, and told
the Inspector that he was in a position to expose the priestly deceit
which he had mentioned, if the authorities would assist him. The police
director asked for further information.

"I have obtained a number of important clues," said the young man. "In
the first place, my father confessed to me that my mother did not
appear to him in our house, but in the churchyard where she is buried.
My mother was consumptive for many years, and a few weeks before her
death she went to the village of S----, where she died and was buried.
In addition to this, I found out from our footman that my father has
already left the house twice, late at night, in company of X----, the
Jesuit priest, and that on both occasions he did not return till
morning. Each time he was remarkably uneasy and low-spirited after his
return, and had three masses said for my dead mother. He also told me
just now that he has to leave home this evening on business, but,
immediately after he told me that, our footman saw the Jesuit go out of
the house. We may, therefore, assume that he intends this evening to
consult the spirit of my dead mother again, and this would be an
excellent opportunity to solve the matter, if you do not object to
opposing the most powerful force in the Empire for the sake of such an
insignificant individual as myself."

"Every citizen has an equal right to the protection of the State," the
police dir