n on the minds of the common people--"These," he contended,
"were not such as resemble the gradual progress of a fertilizing river,
but the headlong and precipitous fury of some portentous flood. The eras
by which the vulgar compute time, have always reference to some period
of fear and tribulation, and they date by a tempest, an earthquake, or
burst of civil commotion. When such are the facts most alive, in the
memory of the common people, we cannot wonder," he concluded, "that the
ferocious warrior is remembered, and the peaceful abbots are abandoned
to forgetfulness and oblivion."

"If you pleashe, gentlemans and ladies, and ashking pardon of Sir Arthur
and Miss Wardour, and this worthy clergymansh, and my goot friend Mr.
Oldenbuck, who is my countrymansh, and of goot young Mr. Lofel also, I
think it is all owing to de hand of glory."

"The hand of what?" exclaimed Oldbuck.

"De hand of glory, my goot Master Oldenbuck, which is a vary great and
terrible secrets--which de monksh used to conceal their treasures when
they were triven from their cloisters by what you call de Reform."

"Ay, indeed! tell us about that," said Oldbuck, "for these are secrets
worth knowing."

"Why, my goot Master Oldenbuck, you will only laugh at me--But de hand of
glory is vary well known in de countries where your worthy progenitors
did live--and it is hand cut off from a dead man, as has been hanged for
murther, and dried very nice in de shmoke of juniper wood; and if you
put a little of what you call yew wid your juniper, it will not be any
better--that is, it will not be no worse--then you do take something of de
fatsh of de bear, and of de badger, and of de great eber, as you call
de grand boar, and of de little sucking child as has not been christened
(for dat is very essentials), and you do make a candle, and put it
into de hand of glory at de proper hour and minute, with de proper
ceremonish, and he who seeksh for treasuresh shall never find none at
all."

"I dare take my corporal oath of that conclusion," said the Antiquary.
"And was it the custom, Mr. Dousterswivel, in Westphalia, to make use of
this elegant candelabrum?"

"Alwaysh, Mr. Oldenbuck, when you did not want nobody to talk of nothing
you wash doing about--And the monksh alwaysh did this when they did hide
their church-plates, and their great chalices, and de rings, wid very
preshious shtones and jewels."

"But, notwithstanding, you knights of the Rosy Cross have