第14章
Onrising，thedoctor，surethatnoonehadcrossedthethresholdofhishousesincehere-enteredit，proceeded(butnotwithoutextremetrepidation)toverifyhisfacts。Hewashimselfignorantofanydifferenceinthebank-notesandalsoofthemisplacementofthePandectvolumes。Thesomnambulistwasright。ThedoctorrangforLaBougival。
“TellUrsulatocomeandspeaktome，“hesaid，seatinghimselfinthecenterofhislibrary。
Thegirlcame；sheranuptohimandkissedhim。Thedoctortookheronhisknee，whereshesatcontentedly，minglinghersoftfaircurlswiththewhitehairofheroldfriend。
“Doyouwantsomething，godfather？“
“Yes；butpromiseme，onyoursalvation，toanswerfrankly，withoutevasion，thequestionsthatIshallputtoyou。“
Ursulacoloredtothetemples。
“Oh！I’llasknothingthatyoucannotspeakof，“hesaid，noticinghowthebashfulnessofyounglovecloudedthehithertochildlikepurityofthegirl’sblueeyes。
“Askme，godfather。“
“Whatthoughtwasinyourmindwhenyouendedyourprayerslastevening，andwhattimewasitwhenyousaidthem。“
“Itwasaquarter-pastorhalf-pastnine。“
“Well，repeatyourlastprayer。“
Thegirlfanciedthathervoicemightconveyherfaithtothesceptic；
sheslidfromhiskneeandkneltdown，claspingherhandsfervently；abrilliantlightilluminedherfaceassheturneditontheoldmanandsaid:——
“WhatIaskedofGodlastnightIaskedagainthismorning，andI
shallaskittillhevouchsafestograntit。“
Thensherepeatedherprayerwithnewandstillmorepowerfulexpression。Tohergreatastonishmenthergodfathertookthelastwordsfromhermouthandfinishedtheprayer。
“Good，Ursula，“saidthedoctor，takingheragainonhisknee。“Whenyoulaidyourheadonthepillowandwenttosleepdidyouthinktoyourself，’Thatdeargodfather；IwonderwhoisplayingbackgammonwithhiminParis’？“
Ursulasprangupasifthelasttrumpethadsoundedinherears。Shegaveacryofterror；hereyes，wideopen，gazedattheoldmanwithawfulfixity。
“Whoareyou，godfather？Fromwhomdoyougetsuchpower？“sheasked，imaginingthatinhisdesiretodenyGodhehadmadesomecompactwiththedevil。
“Whatseedsdidyouplantyesterdayinthegarden？“
“Mignonette，sweet-peas，balsams——“
“Andthelastwerelarkspur？“
Shefellonherknees。
“Donotterrifyme！“sheexclaimed。“Ohyoumusthavebeenhere——youwerehere，wereyounot？“
“AmInotalwayswithyou？“repliedthedoctor，evadingherquestion，tosavethestrainontheyounggirl’smind。“Letusgotoyourroom。“
“Yourlegsaretrembling，“shesaid。
“Yes，Iamconfounded，asitwere。“
“CanitbethatyoubelieveinGod？“shecried，withartlessjoy，lettingfallthetearsthatgatheredinhereyes。
TheoldmanlookedroundthesimplebutdaintylittleroomhehadgiventohisUrsula。Onthefloorwasaplaingreencarpet，veryinexpensive，whichsheherselfkeptexquisitelyclean；thewallswerehungwithagraypaperstrewnwithrosesandgreenleaves；atthewindows，whichlookedtothecourt，werecalicocurtainsedgedwithabandofsomepinkmaterial；betweenthewindowsandbeneathatallmirrorwasapier-tabletoppedwithmarble，onwhichstoodaSevresvaseinwhichsheputhernosegays；oppositethechimneywasalittlebureau-deskofcharmingmarquetry。Thebed，ofchintz，withchintzcurtainslinedwithpink，wasoneofthoseduchessbedssocommonintheeighteenthcentury，whichhadatuftofcarvedfeathersatthetopofeachofthefourposts，whichwereflutedonthesides。Anoldclock，inclosedinasortofmonumentmadeoftortoise-shellinlaidwitharabesquesofivory，decoratedthemantelpiece，themarbleshelfofwhich，withthecandlesticksandthemirrorinaframepaintedincameoonagrayground，presentedaremarkableharmonyofcolor，tone，andstyle。Alargewardrobe，thedoorsofwhichwereinlaidwithlandscapesindifferentwoods(somehavingagreentintwhicharenolongertobefoundforsale)contained，nodoubt，herlinenandherdresses。Theairoftheroomwasredolentofheaven。Theprecisearrangementofeverythingshowedasenseoforder，afeelingforharmony，whichwouldcertainlyhaveinfluencedanyone，evenaMinoret-Levrault。ItwasplainthatthethingsaboutherweredeartoUrsula，andthatshelovedaroomwhichcontained，asitwere，herchildhoodandthewholeofhergirlishlife。
Lookingtheroomwelloverthathemightseemtohaveareasonforhisvisit，thedoctorsawatoncehowthewindowslookedintothoseofMadamedePortenduere。DuringthenighthehadmeditatedastothecourseheoughttopursuewithUrsulaabouthisdiscoveryofthisdawningpassion。Toquestionhernowwouldcommithimtosomecourse。
Hemusteitherapproveordisapproveofherlove；ineithercasehispositionwouldbeafalseone。Hethereforeresolvedtowatchandexamineintothestateofthingsbetweenthetwoyoungpeople，andlearnwhetheritwerehisdutytochecktheinclinationbeforeitwasirresistible。Nonebutanoldmancouldhaveshownsuchdeliberatewisdom。Stillpantingfromthediscoveryofthetruthofthesemagneticfacts，heturnedaboutandlookedatallthevariouslittlethingsaroundtheroom；hewishedtoexaminethealmanacwhichwashangingatacornerofthechimney-piece。
“Theseuglythingsaretooheavyforyourlittlehands，“hesaid，takingupthemarblecandlestickswhichwerepartlycoveredwithleather。
Heweighedtheminhishand；thenhelookedatthealmanacandtookit，saying，“Thisisuglytoo。Whydoyoukeepsuchacommonthinginyourprettyroom？“
“Oh，pleaseletmehaveit，godfather。“
“No，no，youshallhaveanotherto-morrow。“
Sosayinghecarriedoffthispossibleproof，shuthimselfupinhisstudy，lookedforSaintSavinienandfound，asthesomnambulisthadtoldhim，alittlereddotatthe19thofOctober；healsosawanotherbeforehisownsaint’sday，SaintDenis，andathirdbeforeSaintJohn，theabbe’spatron。Thislittledot，nolargerthanapin’shead，hadbeenseenbythesleepingwomaninspiteofdistanceandotherobstacles！Theoldmanthoughttilleveningoftheseevents，moremomentousforhimthanforothers。Hewasforcedtoyieldtoevidence。
Astrongwall，asitwere，crumbledwithinhim；forhislifehadrestedontwobases，——indifferenceinmattersofreligionandafirmdisbeliefinmagnetism。Whenitwasprovedtohimthatthesenses——
facultiespurelyphysical，organs，theeffectsofwhichcouldbeexplained——attainedtosomeoftheattributesoftheinfinite，magnetismupset，oratleastitseemedtohimtoupset，thepowerfulargumentsofSpinoza。Thefiniteandtheinfinite，twoincompatibleelementsaccordingtothatremarkableman，werehereunited，theoneintheother。Nomatterwhatpowerhegavetothedivisibilityandmobilityofmatterhecouldnothelprecognizingthatitpossessedqualitiesthatwerealmostdivine。
Hewastoooldnowtoconnectthosephenomenatoasystem，andcomparethemwiththoseofsleep，ofvision，oflight。Hiswholescientificbelief，basedontheassertionsoftheschoolofLockeandCondillac，wasinruins。Seeinghishollowideasinpieces，hisscepticismstaggered。ThustheadvantageinthisstrugglebetweentheCatholicchildandtheVoltaireanoldmanwasonUrsula’sside。Inthedismantledfortress，abovetheseruins，shonealight；fromthecenteroftheseashesissuedthepathofprayer！Nevertheless，theobstinateoldscientistfoughthisdoubts。Thoughstrucktotheheart，hewouldnotdecide，hestruggledonagainstGod。
Buthewasnolongerthesameman；hismindshoweditsvacillation。Hebecameunnaturallydreamy；hereadPascal，andBossuet’ssublime“HistoryofSpecies“；hereadBonald，hereadSaint-Augustine；hedeterminedalsotoreadtheworksofSwedenborg，andthelateSaint-
Martin，whichthemysteriousstrangerhadmentionedtohim。Theedificewithinhimwascrackingonallsides；itneededbutonemoreshake，andthen，hisheartbeingripeforGod，hewasdestinedtofallintothecelestialvineyardasfallthefruits。Oftenofanevening，whenplayingwiththeabbe，hisgoddaughtersittingby，hewouldputquestionsbearingonhisopinionswhichseemedsingulartothepriest，whowasignorantoftheinwardworkingsbywhichGodwasremakingthatfineconscience。
“Doyoubelieveinapparitions？“askedthescepticofthepastor，stoppingshortinthegame。
“Cardan，agreatphilosopherofthesixteenthcenturysaidhehadseensome，“repliedtheabbe。
“Iknowallthosethatscholarshavediscussed，forIhavejustrereadPlotinus。IamquestioningyouasaCatholicmight，andIaskifyouthinkthatdeadmencanreturntotheliving。“
“Jesusreappearedtohisdisciplesafterhisdeath，“saidtheabbe。
“TheChurchoughttohavefaithintheapparitionsoftheSavior。Asformiracles，theyarenotlacking，“hecontinued，smiling。“ShallI
tellyouthelast？Ittookplaceintheeighteenthcentury。“
“Pooh！“saidthedoctor。
“Yes，theblessedMarie-AlphonseofLigouri，beingveryfarfromRome，knewofthedeathofthePopeattheverymomenttheHolyFatherexpired；therewerenumerouswitnessesofthismiracle。Thesaintedbishopbeinginecstasy，heardthelastwordsofthesovereignpontiffandrepeatedthematthetimetothoseabouthim。Thecourierwhobroughttheannouncementofthedeathdidnotarrivetillthirtyhourslater。“