The Black Robe

cordiality. Penrose lifted the offered hand respectfully to his lips. As one of the "Provincials" of the Order, Father Benwell occupied a high place among the English Jesuits.

ther - I am as

its, perhaps?" Fath

assing smile. "My spirits ar

s gratefully), the brightness and beauty which are part of the great scheme of creation. A similar disposition is to be cultivated - I know instances of it in my own experience. Add one more instance, and you will really gratify me. In its seasons of rejoicing, our C

at his superior, e

e a person who had passed many miserable hours in needlessly despairing of himself and his prospects. With all this, there was something in him so irresistibly truthful and sincere - so suggestive, even where he might be wrong, of a purely conscientious belief in his own errors - that he attached people to him without an effort, and often without being aware of it himself. What would his friends have said if t

, without giving offe

thur, let us open our minds to each other

of a great trust that is

ious, no doubt, t

he first place, if it requi

nd's hand. "Do you dislike Oxford?" h

ly. I dislike the deception which has obliged m

sation from your superiors, which absolves you of all responsibility in respect of the concealment that you have practiced. In the second place, we could only obtain information of the progress which our Church is silently making at the Univ

it. Penrose breathed more free

ou are a Catholic, it will be absolutely necessary that you should do so. But you will continue to wear the ordinary dress of an English gentleman, and to preserve the strictest secrecy on t

and the circumstances under which the property was confiscated to lay uses in the time of Henry the Eighth. Penrose

smiling pleasantly. "We don't mean to allow Hen

k bewilderment. His superior withheld

of explanation has not come yet. I have something else to show yo

nd displayed to view some writings

taken that method of concealing the legal proof of their rights and privileges, in the hope - a vain hope, I need hardly say - that a time might come when Justice would restore to them the property of which they had been robbed. Only last summer, one of our bishops, administering a northern diocese, spoke of these circumstances to a devout Catholic friend, and said he thought it possible that the precaution taken by the monks at Newstead might also have been taken by the monks at Vange. The friend, I should tell you, was an enthusiast. Saying nothing to the bishop (

e read the title-deeds. "Any doubt on your mind?

shadow of

s right to the

ther, as word

on the part of a king, cannot override the law. What the Church once lawfully

recover. Is there anything in this par

ng wha

e prospect of the restitution of the property

honorable restoration of the confiscated property to the Chur

terested. "Is the person a C

fat fingers drummed restlessly on the table; his vigilant eyes rested expectan

orn face of Penrose. "I am afr

hy

se which understands. I am afraid, Fath

to him. "There is power of the right sort, Arthur, hidden under the diffidence that does you honor. I am more than ever satisfied that I have been right in

k what hi

is name is Le

u introduce

I have not yet bee

t know Mr

ever even

s way clearly before him. Sinking from one depth of perplexity to another, Penrose

act from Father Benwell's autobiography? Don't look so serious, my son! When the occasion justifies it, let us take life lightly." He rang the bell and ordered the coffee, as if he was the master of the house. The servant treated him with the most scrupulous respect. He hummed a

liberty to enlighten his young friend. He did it so easily and so cheerfully th