d say is it
unreasonable, that I should wish to do that which, six centuries ago,
was done by my ancestor whose name I bear, and that I should cross the
seas, and----?' He hesitated.

'And visit the Holy Sepulchre,' said Sidonia.

'And visit the Holy Sepulchre,' said Tancred, solemnly; 'for that, I
confess, is my sovereign thought.'

'Well, the crusades were of vast advantage to Europe,' said Sidonia,
'and renovated the spiritual hold which Asia has always had upon the
North. It seems to wane at present, but it is only the decrease that
precedes the new development.'

'It must be so,' said Tancred; 'for who can believe that a country
once sanctified by the Divine Presence can ever be as other lands? Some
celestial quality, distinguishing it from all other climes, must for
ever linger about it. I would ask those mountains, that were reached by
angels, why they no longer receive heavenly visitants. I would appeal
to that Comforter promised to man, on the sacred spot on which the
assurance of solace was made. I require a Comforter. I have appealed
to the holy influence in vain in England. It has not visited me; I know
none here on whom it has descended. I am induced, therefore, to believe
that it is part of the divine scheme that its influence should be local;
that it should be approached with reverence, not thoughtlessly and
hurriedly, but with such difficulties and such an interval of time as a
pilgrimage to a spot sanctified can alone secure.'

Sidonia listened to Tancred with deep attention. Lord Montacute was
seated opposite the windows, so that there was a full light upon the
play of the countenance, the expression of which Sidonia watched, while
his keen and far-reaching vision traced at the same time the formation
and development of the head of his visitor. He recognised in this youth
not a vain and vague visionary, but a being in whom the faculties of
reason and imagination were both of the highest class, and both
equally developed. He observed that he was of a nature passionately
affectionate, and that he was of a singular audacity. He perceived that
though, at this moment, Tancred was as ignorant of the world as a
young monk, he possessed all the latent qualities which in future would
qualify him to control society. When Tancred had finished speaking,
there was a pause of a few seconds, during which Sidonia seemed lost in
thought; then, looking up, he said, 'It appears to me, Lord Montacute,
that what you