"It was a Roman Catholic monastery. The bell was ringing the Angelus, as it is called.
"I obtained admittance to this place and spoke to some of the unhappy monks. I should astonish you if I mentioned the names of some of the deluded men who had immured themselves in this prison-house. It is sufficient to say that among them were a soldier who had won distinction on the battle-field, an artist, a statesman and a physician of no mean repute.
"Now do you understand? Ah! a day will come—you know, I think, what that day is called—when these poor men will have to answer the question: 'Where is the Talent that was given to you?'
"'Where was your sword in the hour of your country's danger?'
"'Where was your picture, your consecration of your art to the service of morality and humanity, when the doors of the great Exhibition were thrown open?'
"'Where was your silver eloquence, your voice of persuasion, when the strife of party was at its fiercest?'
"'Where was your God-given skill in healing when One of Royal Blood lay fainting on the bed of dire—almost mortal—sickness?'
"And the answer? 'I laid it up in a napkin.' And now, etc., etc."
Then the whole six hundred boys sang "O Paradise! O Paradise!" with a fervour and sincerity that were irresistible. The organ thundered till the bad glass shivered and rattled, and the service was over.