I must bend my aged knees to him, who dwelleth in heaven, and the pangs of conscience are not to be trifled with."
The Judge and the Sheriffs gazed at each other in dumb silence at these words, and none of them were inclined to question him any farther. Seeing this, he informed them voluntarily of every particular of the sacrilege, and of the family which had been plunged into want and misery, by the rapacious monks, whose church and convent had been robbed, by means of a forged will: He at the same time confessed where and in what manner the jewels, and the gold and silver furniture, had been turned into money, and by what means the sums those articles had fetched had been conveyed to the family, without acquainting the innocent sufferers with the names of their secret benefactors.
The astonishment of the whole court increased with every word the old man uttered, and as soon as he had finished his confession,he
