en, avoid being deceived by the hypocrite. He
will encompass you, my son; he will assail you on the vulnerable side of
your ingenuous heart, in addressing your religion; and seeing the
extravagance of his affected zeal, you will fancy yourself lukewarm as
compared with him. You will think that your conscience cries out against
you; but it will not be the voice of conscience that you hear. And what
cries would not that conscience send forth, how fiercely would it not
rise upon you, did you contribute to the destruction of innocence by
invoking Heaven itself as a false witness against it?"

"Oh, my father! can such things be possible?" exclaimed Henri d'Effiat,
clasping his hands.

"It is but too true," continued the Abbe; "you saw a partial execution of
it this morning. God grant you may not witness still greater horrors! But
listen! whatever you may see, whatever crime they dare to commit, I
conjure you, in the name of your mother and of all that you hold dear,
say not a word; make not a gesture that may indicate any opinion
whatever. I know the impetuous character that you derive from the
Marechal, your father; curb it, or you are lost. These little ebullitions
of passion give but slight satisfaction, and bring about great
misfortunes. I have observed you give way to them too much. Oh, did you
but know the advantage that a calm temper gives one over men! The
ancients stamped it on the forehead of the divinity as his finest
attribute, since it shows that he is superior to our fears and to our
hopes, to our pleasures and to our pains. Therefore, my dear child,
remain passive in the scenes you are about to witness; but see them you
must. Be present at this sad trial; for me, I must suffer the
consequences of my schoolboy folly. I will relate it to you; it will
prove to you that with a bald head one may be as much a child as with
your fine chestnut curls."

And the excellent old Abbe, taking his pupil's head affectionately
between his hands, continued:

"Like other people, my dear son, I was curious to see the devils of the
Ursulines; and knowing that they professed to speak all languages, I was
so imprudent as to cease speaking Latin and to question them in Greek.
The Superior is very pretty, but she does not know Greek! Duncan, the
physician, observed aloud that it was surprising that the demon, who knew
everything, should commit barbarisms and solecisms in Latin, and not be
able to answer in Greek. The young Superio