id where the body was buried,
and all about it; his confessor had revealed it all, and he could not
deny it, and so he had been condemned. He had only just learned, what
he did not know at the time he confessed, that his confessor was the
brother of the man he had killed, and that the desire for vengeance had
prompted the bad priest to betray his confession. Saint-Thomas, hearing
this, thought that this incident was of more importance than the trial,
which concerned the life of only one person, whereas the honour of
religion was at stake, with consequences infinitely more important. He
felt he must verify this statement, and summoned the confessor. When
he had admitted the breach of faith, the judges were obliged to revoke
their sentence and pardon the criminal, much to the gratification of
the public mind. The confessor was adjudged a very severe penance, which
Saint-Thomas modified because of his prompt avowal of his fault, and
still more because he had given an opportunity for the public
exhibition of that reverence which judges themselves are bound to pay to
confessions.

SECOND CASE

In 1579 an innkeeper at Toulouse killed with his own hand, unknown to
the inmates of his house, a stranger who had come to lodge with him,
and buried him secretly in the cellar. The wretch then suffered from
remorse, and confessed the crime with all its circumstances, telling
his confessor where the body was buried. The relations of the dead man,
after making all possible search to get news of him, at last proclaimed
through the town a large reward to be given to anyone who would discover
what had happened to him. The confessor, tempted by this bait, secretly
gave word that they had only to search in the innkeeper's cellar and
they would find the corpse. And they found it in the place indicated.
The innkeeper was thrown into prison, was tortured, and confessed his
crime. But afterwards he always maintained that his confessor was the
only person who could have betrayed him. Then the Parliament, indignant
with such means of finding out the truth, declared him innocent, failing
other proof than what came through his confessor. The confessor was
himself condemned to be hanged, and his body was burnt. So fully did the
tribunal in its wisdom recognise the importance of securing the sanctity
of a sacrament that is indispensable to salvation.

THIRD CASE

An Armenian woman had inspired a vi