"Yes: blasphemy. Almighty God happens to make something a little out of the common; and, instead of praising Him for the privilege of tending a singular work of His, Fr. Perkins actually bewails the fact! But continue." "I confess I never thought of it in that light before----" "No: nor did Fr. Perkins. Continue." "I also took the opinion of a certain Dr. Strong who appears to be one of the superiors of the university." "He was senior Public Examiner in Honour Greats, if you know what that means." "Quite so. Well: he said that You had been his intimate and valued friend for more than twenty years, that You had had no influential friends to encourage You, and that Your abilities were no less distinguished than Your moral character." The Pope laughed again. "Dr. Strong is an experienced writer of testimonials." "But I should hardly think that a man in his position----" "Certainly not. Dr. Strong is one of the two honest men known to Us. Well: and how did the discrepancy between his statement and Fr. Benedict's strike you?" "It struck me in this way. How did so many worthy priests arrive at practically the same opinion, (for what Fr. Benedict said, others said also,) when their knowledge of facts seemed to be so superficial and so doubtful. I mean, Fr. Benedict and the rest spoke from an exceedingly casual acquaintance: but Dr. Strong from more than twenty years' intimacy. However, just when I was pondering these contradictory statements, Your Holiness's predecessor died; and I was obliged to come to Rome." "Did Your Eminency ever note that very few clergymen are capable--capable--of forming an unprejudiced proper original opinion--of judging on the evidence before them and on nothing else." "I have excellent reason to believe that what Your Holiness says is correct." "It is so much easier to echo than to discriminate. Now, if you please, we will go back to the Compromise. What brought Us again to Your Eminency's remembrance in the Conclave?" "Holy Father, that was most strange. We compromissaries were quite as unable to agree as the Sacred College had been. And then, at the end of one of our sessions, I was struck by the extraordinary likeness of Cardinal della Volta to someone whom I remembered having seen, but whose name I had forgotten. It was the merest accident: but I came away wracking my brains about it. Another curious thing happened the same night. Having some papers to sign, I happened to go to my dispatch-box; and, quite by accident, I came across Edward Lancaster's letters about Your Holiness----" "We do not call these things 'accidents.'" "Nor do I, Holy Father, now. Well: for want of something better to do, I suppose, I looked over half-a-dozen of the letters: and I determined to go further into the matter on my return to England. But, early the very next morning, it suddenly flashed across my mind that I myself had seen Your Holiness----" "In 1894."