offered to her had surprised her very much. She had, indeed, gone so
far as to declare to Lotta that she was shocked by their indifference.
Her own confessor had simply told her that the matter was in the hands
of Father Jerome, as far as it could be said to belong to the Church at
all; and had satisfied his conscience by advising his dear friend to
use all the resources which female persecution put at her command. "You
will frighten her out of it, Madame Zamenoy, if you go the right way
about it," said the priest. Madame Zamenoy was well inclined to go the
right way about it, if she only knew how. She would make Nina's life a
burden to her if she could only get hold of the girl, and would scruple
at no threats as to this world or the next. But she thought that her
priest ought to have done more for her in such a crisis than simply
giving her such ordinary counsel. Things were not as they used to be,
she knew; but there was even yet something of the prestige of power
left to the Church, and there were convents with locks and bars, and
excommunication might still be made terrible, and public opinion, in
the shape of outside persecution, might, as Madame Zamenoy thought,
have been brought to bear. Nor did she get much more comfort from
Father Jerome. His reliance was placed chiefly on operations to be
carried on with the Jew; and, failing them, on the opposition which
the Jew would experience among his own people. "They think more of it
than we do," said Father Jerome.

"How can that be, Father Jerome?"

"Well, they do. He would lose caste among all his friends by such a
marriage, and would, I think, destroy all his influence among them.
When he perceives this more fully he will be shy enough about it
himself. Besides, what is he to get?"