incere in condemning such acts as that which led to
this conversation, as inconsistent with her genuine principles, why
the ominous silence of you and your co-religionists in all such cases?
Where are your protests and efforts? How is it you do not denounce
maxims and practices so rife throughout Papal Christendom, since you
say you would denounce them, if it were attempted to realize them here?
When you protest with one voice against these things as inconsistent
(so you say) with the principles of your Church, and as therefore
deeply dishonoring her,--whether your views on this point be right
or wrong,--we shall at least admit you to have a title to give us an
opinion on the subject."

"Even then, though," said the Deist, "we may think it safer to consult
the opinions, and, what is the practices, of the vast majority of
the Roman Catholic Church, and her conduct in the countries in which
she holds undisputed sway, and therefore I am anxious to hear whether
the Signor would justify imprisonment for reading the Bible."

Our host seemed to think that the conversation proceeded in this
direction quite far enough; and his foreign guest should be made
uncomfortable by these close inquiries, observed, sarcastically,
that he was glad to find that the querists were so anxious to
secure the inestimable privilege of freely reading Scriptures. "It
is the more admirable," said he to last speaker, "as I am aware it
is most disinterested; you having too little value for the Scriptures
to read them yourself. Sic vos non vobis: you labor for others.
You remind me of the colloquy in the 'Citizen of the World,' between
the debtor in jail and the soldier outside his prison window. They
were discussing, you recollect, the chances of a French invasion.
'For my part,' cries the prisoner, 'the greatest of my apprehensions
is for our freedom; if the French should conquer, what would become
of English liberty? 'It is not so much our liberties,' says the
soldier, with a profane oath, 'as our religion, that would suffer
by such a change; ay, our religion, my lads!'"

The company laughed, and the assailants forgot the former topics. Our
host went on further to encourage his foreign guest, though in a
left-handed way, with a gravity which, if I had not known him, would
not only have staggered, but even imposed upon me.

"For my part," said he, "my good Sir, if I were you, I should not
hesitate to acknowledge at once that it is not only the true