"Charmingly expressed--very charmingly!" he said suavely, "And so
you have met our dear St. Felix! Well, well! And did he tell you all
about the wonderful miracle he performed at Rouen?"
A cloud of surprise intermingled with contempt darkened Leigh's
intellectual brows.
"Never!" he said emphatically, "I should not have thought so much of
him if he had laid any claim to such a pretence!"
Gherardi laughed again softly.
"What a pity," he observed, "What a pity you clever heretics are so
violent! You think the power of the Church is a decaying one, and
that our Lord has ceased to supply its ministers with the Spirit of
Grace and the powers of healing? But this is where you are mistaken!
The Church--the Roman Church--remains as it always was and always
will be; impregnable!--the source of inspiration, the seat of
miracle, the only clue and road to everlasting life! And as for its
power--" here he closed his hand and dropped it on the table with a
silent force which was strangely expressive, "its power is
immeasurable! It reaches out in every direction--it grasps--it
holds,--it keeps! Why will you and your co-workers 'kick' like St.
Paul 'against the pricks'? It is quite useless! The Church is too
strong for any one of you--aye, and for any army of you! Do you not
hear the divine Voice from heaven calling daily in your ears, 'Why
persecutest thou Me?'"
"Yes," answered Aubrey deliberately, "I hear that every time I enter
a church! I hear it every time I see an ordained priest or minister
of the Gospel misusing his time in construing to his own purposes
the classic simplicity of Christ's doctrine.
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