it was ever doubted," replied the other. "The common
consent and belief of mankind, the transmission of the record from
remote ages, are of themselves no mean evidence of its truth. But there
must have been a time when it was first written, and as he appeals in it
to facts, to matters which were then of recent occurrence, and to the
public knowledge and belief of those facts, surely every of these
statements would have insured detection, especially if put forth at or
about the time when the events took place. Would it not have been
madness to appeal to eye-witnesses of transactions which never happened,
which witnesses were then alive, and could easily have belied such an
impudent and furtive attempt at imposture? The idea seems almost too
absurd to refute."

"Thou judgest well. It would be madness and absurdity in the extreme to
deny the existence of thy historian, or the events to which he refers;
and yet a record which to thee is of the greatest moment, wherein thine
own interests are for ever involved, and to the truth of which there is
much more clear and irrefragable testimony, thou rejectest as a fraud
and an imposture."

"What proof can its promulgers give me of the infallibility of their
doctrines, even supposing these events to be true?"

"Miracles, acknowledged to be such, contravening and transcending the
common course of nature,--these, I reckon, will be a sufficient warranty
that the message is from the great Author of all things Himself."

"I own these are the strongest evidences that I could require, and I
would admit them if I had witnessed their performance."

"Good. Now to the proof. It is impossible that any simple fact could be
imposed, or that a number of persons could be made to believe they had
witnessed such fact, unless it had actually taken place. For instance,
if I were to assert that I had divided the waters of this river here, in
the presence of the inhabitants, and that I had once led the whole of
them over dryshod, the waters standing like a wall on each side, to
guard their path, appealing to them at the same time in proof of my
testimony; it would be impossible, I say, to convince those people it
were true, provided the event had not happened. Every person would be at
hand to contradict me, and consequently it would be impossible that such
an imposition could be put upon them against the direct evidence of
their senses."

"Granted," replied the baron. "But this tale I am not too