our See,
that is, in his way; when the neophytes of the Propaganda are to be
examined in the several tongues in which they are destined to preach, he
is appointed to question them, the questions being first written down for
him, or else, he! he! he!--Of course you know Napoleon's estimate of
Mezzofante; he sent for the linguist from motives of curiosity, and after
some discourse with him, told him that he might depart; then turning to
some of his generals he observed, "Nous avons eu ici un exemple qu'un
homme peut avoir beaucoup de paroles avec bien peu d'esprit."'

'You are ungrateful to him,' said I; 'well, perhaps, when he is dead and
gone you will do him justice.'

'True,' said the man in black; 'when he is dead and gone, we intend to
erect him a statue of wood, on the left-hand side of the door of the
Vatican library.'

'Of wood?' said I.

'He was the son of a carpenter, you know,' said the man in black; 'the
figure will be of wood for no other reason, I assure you; he! he!'

'You should place another statue on the right.'

'Perhaps we shall,' said the man in black; 'but we know of no one amongst
the philologists of Italy, nor, indeed, of the other countries inhabited
by the faithful, worthy to sit parallel in effigy with our illustrissimo;
when, indeed, we have conquered these regions of the perfidious by
bringing the inhabitants thereof to the true faith, I have no doubt that
we shall be able to select one worthy to bear him company--one whose
statue shall be placed on the right hand of the library, in testimony of
our joy at his conversion; for, as you know, "There is more joy," etc.'

'Wood?' said I.

'I hope not,' said the man in black; 'no, if I be consulted as to the
material for the statue, I should strongly recommend bronze.'

And when the man in black had said this, he emptied his second tumbler of
its contents, and prepared himself another.

CHAPTER NINETY-FOUR

PREROGATIVE--FEELING OF GRATITUDE--A LONG HISTORY--ALLITERATIVE
STYLE--ADVANTAGEOUS SPECIMEN--JESUIT BENEFICE!--NOT SUFFICIENT--QUEEN
STORK'S TRAGEDY--GOOD SENSE--GRANDEUR AND GENTILITY--IRONMONGER'S
DAUGHTER--CLAN MAC-SYCOPHANT--LICKSPITTLES--A CURIOSITY--NEWSPAPER
EDITORS--CHARLES THE SIMPLE--HIGH-FLYING DITTY--DISSENTERS--LOWER
CLASSES--PRIESTLEY'S HOUSE--ANCESTORS--AUSTIN--RENOVATING
GLASS--MONEY--QUITE ORIGINAL

So you hope to bring these regions again beneath the banner of the Roman
See?' said I, after the man in blac