The sufferer drew a deep breath, but he presently added with a sigh:

"But Benjamin the Patriarch, and John of Niku have tormented my soul with
fears! Still, you too, Ptolimus, bear the crosier, and to you I will
confess that your brethren in office, the shepherds of the Jacobite fold,
have ruined my peace for hundreds of days and nights, and I have been
near to cursing them. But before the night fell the Lord sent light into
my soul, and I forgave them, and now, through you, I crave their pardon
and their blessing. The Church has but reluctantly opened the doors to
me in these last years; but what servant can be allowed to complain of
the Master from whom he expects grace? So listen to me. I close my eyes
as a faithful and devoted adherent of the Church, and in token thereof I
will endow her to the best of my power and adorn her with rich and costly
gifts; I will--but I can say no more.--Speak for me, Orion. You know--
the gems--the hanging. . . ."

His son explained to the bishop what a splendid gift, in priceless
jewels, the dying man intended to offer to the Church. He desired to be
buried in the church of St. John at Alexandria by his father's side, and
to be prayed for in front of the mortuary chapel of his ancestors in the
Necropolis; he had set aside a sum of money, in his will, to pay for the
prayers to be offered for his soul. The priests were well pleased to
hear this, and they absolved him unconditionally and completely; then,
after blessing him fervently, they quitted the room.

Philippus heaved a sigh of relief when the ecclesiastics had departed,
and constantly renewed the wet compress, while the dying governor lay for
a long time in silence with his eyes shut. Presently he rubbed them as
though he felt revived, raised his head a little with the physician's
help, and looking up, said: