Page:Pictures of life in Mexico Vol 1.djvu/154

128 "But my wife and children"

"I tell thee again that it will require all thou hast that the unceasing efforts of the church may rescue thee from the tortures that await thy unhappy soul. Dost thou still hanker after thy earthly riches, and scheme for the sordid interests of thy worldly connections? Then perish in thine iniquity!"

"What will become of my wife and children? I cannot leave them unprovided for—without a peso—without a shelter!"

"Then embrace the purgatory that is yawning for thee! Thy last hour is come! Death is even now dealing with thee. Eternal torments await thee! Perish, then, in thy contempt and in thy crimes!"

"The will of the church is mine, holy father, for I feel that I am dying."

An attendant is summoned, and a notary and his clerk are sent for. "For," explains the wily ecclesiastic, "our brother is desirous of arranging his worldly affairs in the company of his spiritual adviser."

The notary arrives, the desired instrument is hastily drawn up; a trembling hand is raised to the paper; and a broken voice exclaims, "Ah! my wife and children!" The