festival of the dead_? And I said, that I had heard the voice, but that
I had seen nothing." "Ah, sir, say the whole," said one of the others.
"But I added," said he, "that I had heard that you were only deceiving us
ignorant people, and that instead of souls shrieking, there were only sea-
crabs crackling beneath the carpet,"--"O son of the fiend! blasphemous
monster!" said the confessor; "but proceed caitiff."--"and that it was a
wire which turned the image of saint Peter," said the fellow, "and that
it was by the wire that the Holy Ghost descended from the gallery of the
cross upon the priest." "O heritage of hell!" said the confessor. "So
ho here! take him torturers, and cast him into the smoky chimney yonder
for telling tales." "Here you see," said the angel, "the church which
Hypocrisy desires should be called the Catholic Church, and the members
of which she would fain have the world consider, as the only people
destined to be saved; it must be owned, indeed, that they had the true
spectacle-glass, but they spoiled it by cutting upon the glass numerous
images; and they had true faith, but they mingled that precious ointment
with their own novel inventions, so that at present they see no more than
the heathen." Thence we went to a barn, where stood a pert, conceited
fellow preaching with great glibness, frequently repeating the same thing
three times. "This man and his hearers," said the angel, "possess the
true spectacle-glass, to see the things which pertain to their peace, but
they lack now in their old age, a very essential matter which is called
perfect love. Various are the causes which drive folks hither; some come
out of respect to their forefathers, some out of ignorance, and many for
worldly advantage. They will make you believe with their faces that they
are being strangled, but they can swallow a toad if necessary; and thus
the princess Hypocrisy does not disdain to teach some in barns." "Pray,"
said I, "where now is the _Church of England_?" "O," said he, "in the
city high above, it constitutes a great part of the _Catholic Church_,
and in the city here below, there are some probationary churches
belonging to it, where the English and Welsh are under probation for a
time, in order to become qualified to have their names written in the
book of the Catholic Church, and they who become so, _blessed are they
for ever_. But alas, there are but very few who are adapting themselves
to obtain honour