munt hostilia,
Da robur, fer, auxilium!"

Ah, and now they come to take the Body----Go then, dear heart, to thy
bitter doom, and open the gates of heaven for these ravening wolves that
will not be denied. The gates that are opened for me are the gates of
the nethermost hell.

And as the deacon of honour placed the sacred vessel on the altar,
Montanelli sank down where he had stood, and knelt upon the step; and
from the white altar above him the blood flowed down and dripped upon
his head. And the voices of the singers rang on, pealing under the
arches and echoing along the vaulted roof:

"Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria:
Qui vitam sine termino
Nobis donet in patria."

"Sine termino--sine termino!" Oh, happy Jesus, Who could sink beneath
His cross! Oh, happy Jesus, Who could say: "It is finished!" This doom
is never ended; it is eternal as the stars in their courses. This is the
worm that dieth not and the fire that is not quenched. "Sine termino,
sine termino!"

Wearily, patiently, he went through his part in the remaining
ceremonies, fulfilling mechanically, from old habit, the rites that had
no longer any meaning for him. Then, after the benediction, he knelt
down again before the altar and covered his face; and the voice of the
priest reading aloud the list of indulgences swelled and sank like a
far-off murmur from a world to which he belonged no more.

The voice broke off, and he stood up and stretched out his hand for
silence. Some of the congregation were moving towards the doors; and
they turned back with a hurried rustle and murmur, as a whisper went
through the Cathedral:

"His Eminence is going to speak."

His ministers, startled and wondering, drew closer to him and one of
them whispered hastily: "Your Eminence, do you intend to speak to the
people now?"

Montanelli silently waved him aside. The priests drew back, whispering
together; the thing was unusual, even irregular; but it was within
the Cardinal's prerogative if he chose to do it. No doubt, he had some
statement of exceptional importance to make; some new reform from Rome
to announce or a special communication from the Holy Father.

Montanelli looked down from the altar-steps upon the sea of upturned
faces. Full of eager expectancy they looked up at him as he stood above
them, spectral and still and white.

"Sh-sh! Silence!" the leaders of the procession called softly; and the
mur