Our host seemed to think that the conversation proceeded in this direction quite far enough; and his foreign guest should be made uncomfortable by these close inquiries, observed, sarcastically, that he was glad to find that the querists were so anxious to secure the inestimable privilege of freely reading Scriptures.  “It is the more admirable,” said he to last speaker, “as I am aware it is most disinterested; you having too little value for the Scriptures to read them yourself.  Sic vos non vobis:  you labor for others.  You remind me of the colloquy in the ‘Citizen of the World,’ between the debtor in jail and the soldier outside his prison window.  They were discussing, you recollect, the chances of a French invasion.  ‘For my part,’ cries the prisoner, ’the greatest of my apprehensions is for our freedom; if the French should conquer, what would become of English liberty?  ‘It is not so much our liberties,’ says the soldier, with a profane oath, ’as our religion, that would suffer by such a change; ay, our religion, my lads!’”

The company laughed, and the assailants forgot the former topics.  Our host went on further to encourage his foreign guest, though in a left-handed way, with a gravity which, if I had not known him, would not only have staggered, but even imposed upon me.

“For my part,” said he, “my good Sir, if I were you, I should not hesitate to acknowledge at once that it is not only the true policy, but the solemn duty, of the Church of Rome to seclude as much as possible the Scriptures from the people.”  The gentleman looked gratified, and the guests were all attention.  “In my judgment much more can be said on behalf of the practice than at first appears; and if I sincerely believed all you do, I should certainly advocate the most stringent measures of repression.”

The foreigner began to look quite at his ease.  “For example,” continued Harrington, in a very quiet tone, “supposing I believed, as you do, that the Holy Virgin is entitled to all the honors which you pay her, so that, as is well known, in Italy and other countries, she even eclipses her Son, and is more eagerly and fondly worshipped,—­it would be impossible for me to peruse the meagre accounts given in the New Testament of this so prominent an object of Catholic reverence and worship,—­to read the brief, frigid, not to say harsh speeches of Christ,—­to contemplate the stolidity of the Apostles with regard to her, throughout their Epistles,—­never even mentioning her name,—­I say it would be impossible for me to read all this without having the idea suggested that it was never intended that I should pay her such homage as you demand for her, or without feeling suspicious that the New Testament disowned it and knew nothing of it.”

“Very true,” said the Italian:  “I must say that I have often felt that there is such a danger to myself.”