that the same fervor which made the Churchman of the
middle age a bigot without mercy, made the Christian of the early days a
hero without fear.

Of these more fiery, daring, and earnest natures, not the least ardent
was Olinthus. No sooner had Apaecides been received by the rites of
baptism into the bosom of the Church, than the Nazarene hastened to make
him conscious of the impossibility to retain the office and robes of
priesthood. He could not, it was evident, profess to worship God, and
continue even outwardly to honour the idolatrous altars of the Fiend.

Nor was this all, the sanguine and impetuous mind of Olinthus beheld in
the power of Apaecides the means of divulging to the deluded people the
juggling mysteries of the oracular Isis. He thought Heaven had sent
this instrument of his design in order to disabuse the eyes of the
crowd, and prepare the way, perchance, for the conversion of a whole
city. He did not hesitate then to appeal to all the new-kindled
enthusiasm of Apaecides, to arouse his courage, and to stimulate his
zeal. They met, according to previous agreement, the evening after the
baptism of Apaecides, in the grove of Cybele, which we have before
described.

'At the next solemn consultation of the oracle,' said Olinthus, as he
proceeded in the warmth of his address, 'advance yourself to the
railing, proclaim aloud to the people the deception they endure, invite
them to enter, to be themselves the witness of the gross but artful
mechanism of imposture thou hast described to me. Fear not--the Lord,
who protected Daniel, shall protect thee; we, the community of
Christians, will be amongst the crowd; we will urge on the shrinking:
and in the first flush of the popular indignation and shame, I myself,
upon those very altars, will plant the palm-branch typical of the
Gospel--and to my tongue shall descend the rushing Spirit of the living
God.'

Heated and excited as he was, this suggestion was not unpleasing to
Apaecides. He was rejoiced at so early an opportunity of distinguishing
his faith in his new sect, and to his holier feelings were added those
of a vindictive loathing at the imposition he had himself suffered, and
a desire to avenge it. In that sanguine and elastic overbound of
obstacles (the rashness necessary to all who undertake venturous and
lofty actions), neither Olinthus nor the proselyte perceived the
impediments to the success of their scheme, which might be found in the
reve