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242 returned. At the last moment I was offered the fraternal kiss of peace: I accepted it from my young assistant, but courteously declined it from F. David. I thus turned my back for ever, as I imagined, on monasticism, and hastened down to meet one or two kind and sympathetic friends.

The following morning I strolled down to my friend’s office, and was surprised to find him closeted with a friar; it was one of my rebellious lay-brothers (though he had obtained an interview under a priest’s name) who had brought a letter from the college. The letter was to acquaint my friend with the fact that a Mr. McCabe, who had been left in temporary charge of the college, had absconded with a quantity of valuable property belonging thereto; that the said stolen property was understood to be on his premises; and that he was informed, in a friendly way, that the matter was in the hands of the police. As a commentary on the letter, the friar gave my friend a long and interesting critique of my public character and mental capacity, and was ejected with scant ceremony. In the impossibility of seeking immediate legal advice we decided to await developments.

In point of fact, I knew there were a few small books amongst my own, overlooked in the hurry of departure, which did belong to the college: these, of course, we intended to return. But the difficulty did not arise from that circumstance. Although my late colleagues did not communicate with me on the