CHAPTER XV.

ARRIVAL OF FATHER LA CHAISE. HE GIVES HIS OPINION OF THE SERMON.BOURDALOUE'S UNEASINESS.

BUT the first line was scarcely written, when, "Good evening, my dear brother, good evening!" cried, (entering without being announced,) a man whom Claude recognized as belonging to the same order with Bourdaloue, and whose physiognomy offered a singular mixture of cunning and goodness, of circumspection and frankness.

"You are alone,” he continued; "good! I begin to be somewhat reassured-"

He had not seen Claude. The chamber was quite large; and as the minister was in the habit of walking while he dictated, the Jesuit had entered by accident, when he was at the further extremity. And he remained there.

Confused, Bourdaloue could only make a slight motion in that direction as if to inform the new comer. But he, not perceiving it, unceremoniously took a seat.

"What is this that I have heard?" he resumed. "That you were going to play me a trick to-morrow, and a trick—"

"I!"

"Yes. I am told that M. de Condom has been to see you; taat his visit was connected with to-day's affairs; and that it goes so far as to be a question of nothing less than a public exhortation of the king, not to perform his Easter devotions without having sent away Mme. de Montespan-"

"And if it should be so ?"

"If it should be so! Well, you are really admirable! You do not perceive then, into what a frightful embarrassment you would throw me? If it should be so! Why, if the preacher of the king allow himself to say such things, pray what becomes of the confessor ?"*

"Apropos of confessor, I thought you were in bed. I heard that you had been bled-"

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"Twice, brother, twice,—and if the first was the comedy, the second was not, I swear to you. I had gained enough bad blood in the interval. What a position, good God, what a position! And how well poor Father Ferrier would have done to live ten years longer, and leave me at Lyons with my folios and medals!" "You do not always say that. You did not say so yesterday." "Alas! it is not certain that I shall say it to-morrow. If you but knew what the king is for me! He heaps upon me all the favors which can most dazzle and overwhelm me. I don't speak

* Besides the arguments, religious and otherwise, which have generally been used for or against confession, there is one very simple question to be asked, it seems to us;-have the Roman Catholic sovereigns been, upon the whole, more religious and moral than the Protestants. If there were an equal amount of weakness and vice on each side, we might even then ask what was the use of this superfluous expense of confessors; still more may we ask this, if it be true, as we think, that there has been more morality, or less immorality among sovereigns without confessors, than others. But without insisting upon these vague comparisons, let us conine ourselves to a fact which none will deny; namely, that the immoralties of Roman Catholic sovereigns have been many times displayed, in a manner unequalled for audacity and shamelessness. After this, is it enough to remark, that confession did not hinder these scandalous displays! May not we add, that it was in some degree the cause of them. It may be doubted whether a man who respected religion and feared hell, Louis XIV. for instance, would have openly given such scandal, without the unfortunate facility of depositing every month, every week, every day, if he saw fit, his burden of sins, at the feet of a man intimidated or carried away from duty.

of pensions; I have already twice as many of them as I need, and he has often expressed his regret that he cannot present me with benefices.* It is I who keep the list of them. He tells me, 'Do not forget your friends.' But giving is nothing to him, and so he seems to seek out methods of giving to me, in order that his benefits shall have the greater possible value. Stayit was but a fortnight ago that he saw me pluck a primrose in the park of St. Germain. You have flowers?' he said to me. 'I wish that you should have a garden.' A week passed. I supposed that he thought no more of it, or that he waited until we should be at Versailles to give me a little piece of ground. Not so. I learn that he has had an immense garden bought, and the orders are given for the building of a delicious house in it."

"Where is it?" asked Bourdaloue.

"At Menilmontant."t

"Oh! oh! Five leagues from Versailles ?"

"Yes, it is rather far-but I am not sorry for that."

"Nor he, I suppose. Provided that he sees you once a month, it probably does not signify much to him."

"Nor to me, neither.-But, however, he had thirty ways of getting rid of me; I confess that it could not be done with a better grace. They say that I am his courtier; it is rather he that is mine. During my pretended indisposition of yesterday, how many times do you think he sent to inquire after me? I am I did not count; but there were at least ten messages—" "And you attribute that to his desire to know that you are better?"

sorry

"On the contrary, my good friend, on the contrary.-I believe, *It was contrary to the rules of the order.

It is this garden which has since become the cemetery called Père la Chaise.

however, that he would be sorry to have me die, for then he would have a new confessor to take, and a new education to begin, while mine, alas ! is three quarters finished;* but so long as it does not go to that length, I have every reason to think that he will never be displeased with me for being ill at Easter. However that may be, such an interest for my health is no lessin the eyes of the court-you understand-an immense distinction."t

"And you call that an education three quarters finished? You are very modest."

"It is finished, you think? not; it will not be, please God. science, Father Bourdaloue-"

Well, you are mistaken. It is

There is such a thing as a con

"And people often act as if they had none, Father La Chaise.” "And so you have resolved to have enough for two, it appears. -I have been rightly informed, I see; it is to-morrow that your zeal is to signalize itself at my expense. I should like to read it, -this famous sermon !"

"Yes? Well, there it is."

"You allow me?"

"Certainly."

"But I see nothing there" exclaimed Father La Chaise, after having rapidly run over the first part. "But I see nothing here either," he exclaimed again, after having run over the second part a little less rapidly.

"Ah, the conclusion-well-let us see.-Well, the leaf is torn out ?"

* "It is more difficult to fulfil one's duties, than to find priests to dispense one from doing so."-MONTESQUIEU. Persian Letters.

Louis XIV. having one day whispered a few words in the ear of Madame de Brinon, superieuse of St. Cyr,-this lady, hitherto humble and modest, became insupportably haughty.

"Here it is, here it is."

"All crumpled ?"

"I-yes-an accident-while studying-while reading-a somewhat abrupt gesture"

"My dear friend, you are quizzing me. If you tore off this conclusion it is because you have another one."

"No."

"No ?"

"No, I tell you, upon the word of—”

"Are you going to say on the word of a Jesuit, like your PortRoyal friends ?"

"You ought to know that I never jest upon those subjects which religion and my habit order me to respect."

And yet it was somewhat jesuitically, in the Pascalian sense of the word, that Bourdaloue had replied no. Father La Chaise had asked, "have you another?" No, signified "I have not," and this was true; but the question evidently meant, "are you going to write another?" and thus this no approached somewhat to a falsehood. Was it jestingly, or seriously that he had said it? We incline to think that there was a little of both. Then we must not forget the uneasiness in which he was kept by the presence of Claude; he did not in reality exactly know what he was saying.

"I go for no," said the confessor, who had already recommenced reading, this time attentively, line after line.

"But it is admirable, all that!" he cried, after the first few phrases."What talent! what art! How the ideas flow into one another! How well it is brought out! I have reason, however, for consolation—"

He thought he heard a movement at the extremity of the chamber. But hearing nothing further, he resumed, "for consolation; (still reading,) I know, and the whole universe knows as