“This, monsieur, I said because I doubted God’s providence, because I feared men more than God!
“‘Manteuffel will not burn it to-morrow or ever, Herr monk,’ he replied. ‘I have learned that Berlin is angry at the scandal of Louvain, and has forbidden more burnings. Two days have gone by. Your monastery is saved. I have saved Mont César.’
“A third time the sentry entered, and a third time the officer’s face grew stern and his voice rose angrily: ‘Take this monk through the monastery; then bring him here. Be quick. There is no time to lose,’ he said. And I followed the sentry out into the black corridor.
“He secured a lantern and I followed him down the long halls. In each monastery cell, in the refectory, in the kitchen, in the library, everything had been piled in a heap, soaked in naphtha, and prepared for burning. Everything was ready, monsieur, and had been ready for two days. This lieutenant alone had defeated the machinations of that man-devil—that Manteuffel who commanded in Louvain. Why? I do not know, except that it was the will of God that Mont César should be preserved, and the good God, monsieur, uses even the vilest of men to work His will. The Good God uses even Germans——
“Again I stood in the little cell before the saviour of Mont César. ‘Herr Offizier,’ I said, ‘Give me the order, and by the good God whose instrument you are——’
“‘This is not God’s work: it is the devil’s!’ he exclaimed bitterly.
“‘What is the devil’s work—that you have saved the monastery? No. That is of God.’
“‘God or the devil, I am disgraced.’
“‘By God’s will you are saved.’
“‘Saved?’