“With pleasure, here it is,” and I handed him the precious document.
As soon as he had assured himself that it was the very letter in question, he ran to the stove and threw it into the fire. I felt so puzzled at the action of my bishop, that I remained almost paralyzed; but soon, coming to myself, I ran, to save from the flames, that document which was more valuable and precious to me than all the gold of California, but it was too late. It was in ashes.
I turned to the bishop and said: “How can you take from me a document which is my property, and destroy it without my permission?”
He answered me with an impudence that cannot be expressed on paper: “I am your superior, and have no account to give you.”
I replied: “Yes, my lord, you are my superior indeed. You are a great bishop in our church, and I am nothing but a poor miserable priest.
“But, there is an Almighty God in heaven, who is as much above you as he is above me. That great God has granted me
rights which I will never give up to please any man. In the presence of God, I protest against your iniquity.”
“Have you come here to lecture me?” replied the bishop.
“No, my lord, I did not come to lecture you; I come at your command, but I want to know if it was to insult me as you have just done that you requested me to come here again.”
“I ordered you to come here again because you deceived me the last time you were here,” he answered: “you gave me an act of submission which you know very well is not an act of submission. I accepted it then, but I was mistaken; I reject it to-day.”