Father Tom and the Pope : $b Or, a night in the VaticanFerguson, Samuel
Religion
Father Tom and the Pope : $b Or, a night in the Vatican
Ferguson, Samuel
Catholic Church -- Fiction; Christian fiction; Clergy -- Fiction; Popes -- Fiction
Sure enough the candle fell down that minit, and was near setting fire
to the windy-curtains, and there was some bustle, as you may suppose,
getting things put to rights. And now I have to tell you ov a raally
onpleasant occurrence. If I was a Prodesan that was in it, I'd say that
while the Pope's back was turned, Father Tom made free wid the two
lips ov Miss Eliza; but, upon my conscience, I believe it was a mere
mistake that his Holiness fell into on account of his being an ould
man, and not having aither his eyesight or his hearing very parfect. At
any rate it can't be denied but that he had a sthrong imprission that
sich was the case; for he wheeled about as quick as thought, jist as
his Riv'rence was sitting down, and charged him wid the offince plain
and plump. "Is it kissing my housekeeper before my face you are, you
villain?" says he. "Go down out o' this," says he to Miss Eliza; "and
do you be packing off wid you," he says to Father Tom, "for it's not
safe, so it isn't, to have the likes ov you in a house where there's
temptation in your way."
"Is it me?" says his Riv'rence; "why, what would your Holiness be at,
at all? Sure I wasn't doing no sich thing."
"Would you have me doubt the evidence ov my sinses?" says the Pope;
"would you have me doubt the testimony ov my eyes and ears?" says he.
"Indeed I would so," says his Riv'rence, "if they pretind to have
informed your Holiness of any sich foolishness."
"Why," says the Pope, "I seen you afther kissing Eliza as plain as I
see the nose on your face; I heard the smack you gave her as plain as
ever I heard thundher."
"And how do you know whether you see the nose on my face or not?"
says his Riv'rence; "and how do you know whether what you thought was
thundher, was thundher at all? Them operations of the sinses," says
he, "comprises only particular corporayal emotions, connected wid
sartin confused perciptions called sinsations, and isn't to be depended
upon at all. If we were to follow them blind guides, we might jist as
well turn heretics at ons't. 'Pon my secret word, your Holiness, it's
naither charitable nor orthodox ov you to set up the testimony ov your
eyes and ears agin the character ov a clergyman. And now, see how aisy
it is to explain all them phwenomena that perplexed you. I ris and went
over beside the young woman because the skillet was boiling over, to
help her to save the dhrop ov liquor that was in it; and as for the
noise you heard, my dear man, it was neither more nor less nor myself
dhrawing the cork out ov this blissid bottle."
"Don't offer to thrape that upon me!" says the Pope; "here's the cork
in the bottle still, as tight as a wedge."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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