"My dear girl! You must have been over-working to get such strange
fancies into your head! There is nothing supernatural left to us
nowadays except the vague idea of a God,--and even that we are
rather tired of!"
Angela trembled and grew paler than usual.
"Do not speak in that way," she urged, "The Abbe talked in just such
a light fashion until the other day here,--yet this morning I think-
-nay, I am sure he believes in something better than himself at
last."
The Princesse was silent for a minute.
"Well, what is to happen next?" she queried, "Excommunication of
course! All brave thinkers of every time have been excommunicated,
and many of our greatest and most valuable scientific works are on
the Index Expurgatorius. It is my ambition to get into that Index,--
I shall never rest till I win the honour of being beside Darwin's
'Origin of Species'!"
Angela smiled, but her thoughts were elsewhere.
"I hope the Abbe will go away at once," she said meditatively, "But
you have no idea how happy and at ease he is! He seems to be ready
for anything."
"What does Cardinal Bonpre think?" asked the Princesse.
"My uncle never thinks in any way except the way of Christ," replied
Angela. "He says, 'Thy sins be forgiven thee; arise and walk', to
every soul stricken with the palsy of pain and repentance.
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