pe never lost his coolness for one instant,
although his face gave signs of the pain he inwardly experienced.

"I thank you, Count," said the Pontiff, calmly. "Be so kind as to
assure our worthy son, the primate of France, of our paternal and
sincere affection; but we cannot follow his advice. We shall remain
here, although we may be led into captivity, if such be the design of
God. It is not the first time that the head of the Church has been
forced to yield to violence. If God in his infinite wisdom; and in the
interest of His holy name, judges me worthy to suffer even death
itself, let His will be done."

"Permit me, Holy Father," said the cardinal, John of Naples; "your
resolution does not appear to me to be prudent. As soon as you have
fallen into the power of the tyrant, your enemies will drag you before
the council and throw you into a dungeon. Octavian, who styles himself
Victor, would then rule in the name and according to the wishes of the
Emperor, while the successor of St. Peter would be in a prison. Avoid
this peril and the whole Catholic world will rise to resist the
schismatical Emperor and his bishops. Did not St. Paul fly from danger
in order to be able to spread more widely the divine word?"

"Worthy brother," replied the Pope, "in this particular we have been
long a zealous disciple of St. Paul; we have fled from Rome, we have
fled from Genoa. Where, hereafter, could we hope to avoid the
inveterate pursuit of Barbarossa?"

"The Greek Emperor Manuel," replied John of Naples, "has, on several
occasions, offered you men and money to defend Rome and drive the
Germans from Italy!--Your Holiness cannot be ignorant of the fact that
Venice and other powerful cities will give strenuous aid to this
enterprise."

"But, my lord Cardinal, what conditions did Manuel exact in return,"
said Alexander.

"He demands the guaranty of the Imperial crown to him and his
successors. Now, as this crown belongs to the Pope, he can dispose of
it as he pleases."

"Very true!" said Alexander; "but, in that case, would we not seem to
deprive the German princes of their rights in order to gratify our own
personal spite? The wisdom of our predecessors has for ages placed the
crown on German princes, and should we from purely personal motives
presume to abrogate the acts of their wisdom? No, my lord Cardinal! may
God preserve, keep, and enlighten the Emperor Frederic."

"Perhaps it would be well," said the Cardinal William