prisoner? Never was a knotty point
more patiently investigated, but, alas! most hopelessly. The intense
interest of the inquiry, however, served totally to withdraw me from my
previous readings, and "the gray sister" was shocked to see the mark in
my book remain for days long unchanged. She took courage at length
to address me on the subject, and even went so far as to ask if Satan
himself had not taken occasional opportunity of her absence to come and
sit beside my bed? I eagerly caught at the suggestion, and said it was
as she suspected: that he never gave me a moment's peace, now torturing
me with menaces, now asking for explanations, how this could be
reconciled with that, and why such a thing should not have prevented
such another?

Instead of expressing any astonishment at my confession, she appeared to
regard it as one of the most ordinary incidents, and referred me to my
books, and especially to St Francis, to see that these were usual and
every-day snares in use. She went further, and in her zeal actually
showed a sort of contempt for the Evil One in his intellectual capacity
that startled me; showing how St Jude always got the better of him, and
that he was a mere child when opposed by the craft of St. Anthony of
Pavia.

"It is the truth," said she, "always conquers him. Whenever, by any
chance, he can catch you concealing or evading, trying to make out
reasons that are inconsistent, or affecting intentions that you had not,
then he is your master."

There was such an air of matter-of fact about all she said, that
when--our first conversation on this theme over--she left the room, a
cold sweat broke over me at the thought that my next visitor would be
the "Lebendige Satan" himself.

It had come to this: that I had furnished my own mind with such a
subject of terror that I could not endure to be alone, and lay there
trembling at every noise, and shrinking at every shadow that crossed the
floor. Many and many times, as the dupe of my own deceivings, did I find
myself talking aloud in self-defence, averring that I wanted to be good
and honest and faithful, and that whenever I lapsed from the right path,
it was in moments of erring reason, sure to be followed after by sincere
repentance.

It was after an access of this kind "the gray sister" found me one
morning, bathed in cold perspiration, my eyes fixed, my lips livid, and
my fingers fast knotted together.

"I see," said she, "he has given you a severe