"His Eminence is ready," he said.
The Cardinal looked up as the priest came in a minute later.
"Ah! good morning, Monsignor. Yes, sit down there. There are just two matters I want to have a word with you on. The first is as regards a heresy-trial of a priest."
Monsignor bowed. It was his first experience of the kind, so far as he could remember; and he did not yet fully understand all that it meant.
"I wish you to select the judges. You'll look up the procedure, if you forget? A Dominican must be on it, of course; so you must communicate with the Provincial. The other two must be seculars, as the accused is a Religious. He has elected to be tried in England."
"Yes, your Eminence."
"He has behaved very reasonably, and refuses to take advantage of the Ne invitus clause."
"I forget at this moment," began Monsignor, vaguely conscious that he had heard of this before.
"Oh! that gives him the right to suppress the book before publication. It's part of the new legislation. He has sent the thesis of his book, privately printed, to Rome, and it has been condemned. He refuses to withdraw, as he is perfectly confident of his orthodoxy. I understand that the book is not yet completely finished, but he has his thesis clear enough. It is on the subject of the miraculous element in religion."
"I beg your Eminence's pardon, but is the author a Benedictine by any chance?"