eir very childhood, and shall outlast Vesuvius. You see the
fragments of the Temple of Peace. How would you look could you see also
the Capitol with its five-and-twenty temples? Do but note this Monte
Savello; what is it, an it pleases you, but the ruins of the ancient
theatre of Marcellus? and as for Testacio, one of the highest hills in
modern Rome, it is but an ancient dust heap; the women of old Rome flung
their broken pots and pans there, and lo--a mountain.

"'Ex pede Herculem; ex ungue leonem.'"

Gerard listened respectfully, but when the holy friar proceeded by
analogy to imply that the moral superiority of the heathen Romans was
proportionally grand, he resisted stoutly. "Has then the world lost
by Christ His coming?" said he; but blushed, for he felt himself
reproaching his benefactor.

"Saints forbid!" said the friar. "'Twere heresy to say so." And having
made this direct concession, he proceeded gradually to evade it by
subtle circumlocution, and reached the forbidden door by the spiral back
staircase. In the midst of all which they came to a church with a knot
of persons in the porch. A demon was being exorcised within. Now Fra
Colonna had a way of uttering a curious sort of little moan, when things
Zeno or Epicurus would not have swallowed were presented to him as
facts. This moan conveyed to such as had often heard it not only strong
dissent, but pity for human credulity, ignorance, and error, especially
of course when it blinded men to the merits of Pagandom.

The friar moaned, and said, "Then come away.

"Nay, father, prithee! prithee! I ne'er saw a divell cast out."

The friar accompanied Gerard into the church, but had a good shrug
first. There they found the demoniac forced down on his knees before the
altar with a scarf tied round his neck, by which the officiating priest
held him like a dog in a chain.

Not many persons were present, for fame had put forth that the last
demon cast out in that church went no farther than into one of the
company: "as a cony ferreted out of one burrow runs to the next."

When Gerard and the friar came up, the priest seemed to think there were
now spectators enough; and began.

He faced the demoniac, breviary in hand, and first set himself to learn
the individual's name with whom he had to deal.

"Come out, Ashtaroth. Oho! it is not you then. Come out, Belial. Come
out, Tatzi. Come out, Eza. No; he trembles not. Come out, Azymoth. Come
out, Feriander. Come o