let
me reflect;--yes, yes, I am very restless, and dream of raw heads and
bloody bones; and some days ago--ah, yes!--that certainly was a sign and
a warning--some few days ago I went with my lap-dog, which you see there,
to walk in the garden. I was alone; the nuns were at some distance,
telling stories beneath the linden-trees. All at once the gardener's
great mastiff sprung upon _Piety_, for that is the name of my pet. I
shuddered from head to foot, and crossed myself again and again; but that
would avail nothing. At last I struck at the hideous brute with my
staff,--yes, I struck with all my strength the filthy hound who would
thus profane the cloister; and I continued striking until the staff,
which his reverence the Archbishop delivered to me upon my consecration
as abbess, broke in two. Was that a sign or a warning, think ye?

The Devil and Faustus pretended to be shocked.

_Devil_. Ah, the very worst in the world. All now is but too clear and
manifest. Did not I tell you how it would turn out, Sister Agatha?

Faustus made a humble bow of assent.

_Abbess_. For Heaven's sake, speak, or I shall run mad.

_Devil_. Contain yourself, dear sister. Help is to be found, and who
knows but I bring it with me? Remember that it was the staff which the
Archbishop presented to you upon your being consecrated an abbess which
you broke; and now listen to me attentively. You know my cousin the
prebend; well, he confided to me a very terrible affair. He indeed made
me solemnly promise not to tell you; but I know it is best to commit a
little sin, if by its means we can prevent a great one and confound the
projects of Satan.

_Abbess_. You are perfectly right; and the Fathers of the Church hold
that doctrine, as my confessor has often told me.

_Devil_. Know, then, that the Archbishop has so far got the upper hand
of the Chapter, that he has brought them to consent to your being deposed
after the lapse of a few months, and his niece Clara being made abbess in
your stead.

"Jesu Maria!" cried the abbess, wrung her hands, and fell into a swoon.
The Devil made a sour face at her exclamation, and Faustus, laughing,
rubbed her wrinkled brows. After she had recovered herself, she shed a
torrent of tears, and shrieked a thousand curses against the wickedness
of the world.

_Devil_. Do not despair, dear sister. For a distant evil there is
always a remedy.

_Abbess_. And what do you advise me to do? Wretch