Page:The Strange Case of Miss Annie Spragg (1928).djvu/181

 sane nun and a malicious scrubwoman? All that should be beneath the dignity of God's church."

He moved to the table and took up the thin book which held for him all the peace he knew. He opened easily to a page to which he had turned a thousand times in the struggle to subdue the monster in his soul. By the yellow light of the candle he began to read.

He put down the book and turned his white face toward Fulco. "Where is humility in the world today? Where is divine charity? Who is it that purely and sincerely seeks God's honor?"

Then, quite suddenly, he felt weak and leaned against the window, his head in his hands, trembling. He was an old, tired man once more.

There was a long silence and then the timid voice of Fulco murmuring, "The world, the Church can be purified. If what you say is true. It can be purified."

"And who is to do it? The Church would have none of Savonarola. The Jesuits turned into politicians who said the end justified the means. It hanged Savonarola by the neck and burnt his body