have been more gallant, more pious, more romantic, more in keeping with the customs of this country, to shut her up in St. Clara's, like a new Eloise, in order to visit and console her from time to time."
"I neither can nor should pass judgment upon the conduct of archbishops," replied the Franciscan sourly.
"But you, who are the ecclesiastical governor, acting in the place of our Archbishop, what would you do if such a case should arise?"
Padre Salvi shrugged his shoulders and calmly responded, "It's not worth while thinking about what can't happen. But speaking of legends, don't overlook the most beautiful, since it is the truest: that of the miracle of St. Nicholas, the ruins of whose church you may have noticed. I'm going to relate it to Señor Simoun, as he probably hasn't heard it. It seems that formerly the river, as well as the lake, was infested with caymans, so huge and voracious that they attacked bankas and upset them with a slap of the tail. Our chronicles relate that one day an infidel Chinaman, who up to that time had refused to be converted, was passing in front of the church, when suddenly the devil presented himself to him in the form of a cayman and upset the banka, in order to devour him and carry him off to hell. Inspired by God, the Chinaman at that moment called upon St. Nicholas and instantly the cayman was changed into a stone. The old people say that in their time the monster could easily be recognized in the pieces of stone that were left, and, for my part, I can assure you that I have clearly made out the head, to judge from which the monster must have been enormously large."
"Marvelous, a marvelous legend!" exclaimed Ben-Zayb. "It's good for an article—the description of the monster, the terror of the Chinaman, the waters of the river, the bamboo brakes. Also, it'll do for a study of comparative religions; because, look you, an infidel Chinaman in great distress invoked exactly the saint that he must know only by hearsay and in whom he did not believe. Here there's
