Page:Whyte-Melville--Bones and I.djvu/220

 our intellects and shorten our lives; but there is a spell which even this evil spirit has not power to withstand, and it is to be found in an inscription less imitated perhaps than admired by the "monks of old."

"Laborare est orare," so runs the charm. "Work and worship, and a stern resolve to ignore his presence, will eventually cause this devil to "come out of the man." Not, be sure, till he has torn and rent him cruelly—not till he has driven him abroad to wander night and day amongst the tombs, seeking rest, poor fevered wretch, and finding none, because of his tormentor—not till, in utter helplessness and sheer despair, stunned, humbled, and broken-hearted, the demoniac has crept feebly to the Master's feet, will he find himself delivered from his enemy, weary, sore, and wasted, but "clothed, and in his right mind."

Amongst the many ghost stories I have