rench bishops, whose names you
will allow me to keep secret, and it consequently became necessary for
the Congregation to examine the incriminated work."

Pierre looked at him quite scared. Denounced by three bishops? Why? With
what object? Then he thought of his protector. "But Cardinal Bergerot,"
said he, "wrote me a letter of approval, which I placed at the beginning
of my work as a preface. Ought not a guarantee like that to have been
sufficient for the French episcopacy?"

Monsignor Fornaro wagged his head in a knowing way before making up his
mind to reply: "Ah! yes, no doubt, his Eminence's letter, a very
beautiful letter. I think, however, that it would have been much better
if he had not written it, both for himself and for you especially." Then
as the priest, whose surprise was increasing, opened his mouth to urge
him to explain himself, he went on: "No, no, I know nothing, I say
nothing. His Eminence Cardinal Bergerot is a saintly man whom everybody
venerates, and if it were possible for him to sin it would only be
through pure goodness of heart."

Silence fell. Pierre could divine that an abyss was opening, and dared
not insist. However, he at last resumed with some violence: "But, after
all, why should my book be prosecuted, and the books of others be left
untouched? I have no intention of acting as a denouncer myself, but how
many books there are to which Rome closes her eyes, and which are far
more dangerous than mine can be!"

This time Monsignor Fornaro seemed glad to be able to support Pierre's
views. "You are right," said he, "we cannot deal with every bad book, and
it greatly distresses us. But you must remember what an incalculable
number of works we should be compelled to read. And so we have to content
ourselves with condemning the worst _en bloc_."

Then he complacently entered into explanations. In principle, no printer
ought to send any work to press without having previously submitted the
manuscript to the approval of the bishop of the diocese. Nowadays,
however, with the enormous output of the printing trade, one could
understand how terribly embarrassed the bishops would be if the printers
were suddenly to conform to the Church's regulation. There was neither
the time nor the money, nor were there the men necessary for such
colossal labour. And so the Congregation of the Index condemned _en
masse_, without examination, all works of certain categories: first,
books which were dangerous f