"To whom were the words spoken?"

"To the early Christians, whose praise is in all the churches--whom the
Catholics not only reverence but worship."

"Hum. Well, if they weathered such persecution as this, perhaps these
may; but I could not stand it, I!--Do you know (with great awe) there
are dungeons called Hippocrates' Sleeves, the walls of which slope like
the inside of a funnel tapering to a point, so that those who are put
inside them can neither lie, sit, nor stand? They are let down into them
with cords, and drawn up every day to be whipped."

"And have any come forth alive from such places?"

"I grant you; but sometimes without teeth or hair."

"O, what glorious faith, to survive such a test!" exclaimed I.

"But some don't survive."

"O, what hallelujahs their freed spirits must sing as they find
themselves suddenly released and soaring upward with myriads of
rejoicing angels, to receive their welcome at the throne of God!"

"Jean, I never knew anything like you!" said La Croissette. "The worse
the stories I tell you, the greater the triumph and exultation you cap
them with."

I answered, "They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of