relieve the souls of good Catholics from a burden which has seemed to
them too heavy?"

"Yes," said Parsons, half-sulkily, "to allow all Balaams who will to
sacrifice to Baal, while they call themselves by the name of the Lord."

"My dear brother, have I not often reminded you that Naaman was allowed
to bow himself in the house of Rimmon? And can we therefore complain of
the office to which the Holy Father has appointed us, to declare to such
as Mr. Leigh his especial grace, by which the bull of Pius the Fifth
(on whose soul God have mercy!) shall henceforth bind the queen and the
heretics only; but in no ways the Catholics, at least as long as the
present tyranny prevents the pious purposes of the bull?"

"Be it so, sir; be it so. Only observe this, Mr. Leigh, that our brother
Campian confesses this to be a tyranny. Observe, sir, that the bull does
still bind the so-called queen, and that she and her magistrates are
still none the less usurpers, nonentities, and shadows of a shade. And
observe this, sir, that when that which is lawful is excused to the
weak, it remains no less lawful to the strong. The seven thousand who
had not bowed the knee to Baal did not slay his priests; but Elijah did,
and won to himself a good reward. And if the rest of the children of
Israel sinned not in not slaying Eglon, yet Ehud's deed was none the
less justified by all laws human and divine."

"For Heaven's sake, do not talk so, sir! or I must leave the room. What
have I to do with Ehud and Eglon, and slaughters, and tyrannies? Our
queen is a very good queen, if Heaven would but grant her repentance,
and turn her to the true faith. I have never been troubled about
religion, nor any one else that I know of in the West country."