II
He passed straight up to the chair, followed by two secretaries, bowedslightly to this side and that, sat down and made a little gesture. Thenthey, too, were in their chairs, upright and intent. For perhaps thehundredth time, Oliver, staring upon the President, marvelled at thequietness and the astounding personality of Him. He was in the Englishjudicial dress that had passed down through centuries--black and scarletwith sleeves of white fur and a crimson sash--and that had lately beenadopted as the English presidential costume of him who stood at the headof the legislature. But it was in His personality, in the atmospherethat flowed from Him, that the marvel lay. It was as the scent of thesea to the physical nature--it exhilarated, cleansed, kindled,intoxicated. It was as inexplicably attractive as a cherry orchard inspring, as affecting as the cry of stringed instruments, as compellingas a storm. So writers had said. They compared it to a stream of clearwater, to the flash of a gem, to the love of woman. They lost alldecency sometimes; they said it fitted all moods, as the voice of manywaters; they called it again and again, as explicitly as possible, theDivine Nature perfectly Incarnate at last....
Then Oliver's reflections dropped from him like a mantle, for thePresident, with downcast eyes and head thrown back, made a littlegesture to the ruddy-faced secretary on His right; and this man, withouta movement, began to speak like an impersonal actor repeating his part.
* * * * *
"Gentlemen," he said, in an even, resonant voice, "the President is comedirect from Paris. This afternoon His Honour was in Berlin; thismorning, early, in Moscow. Yesterday in New York. To-night His Honourmust be in Turin; and to-morrow will begin to return through Spain,North Africa, Greece and the southeastern states."
This was the usual formula for such speeches. The President spoke butlittle himself now; but was careful for the information of his subjectson occasions like this. His secretaries were perfectly trained, and thisspeaker was no exception. After a slight pause, he continued:
"This is the business, gentlemen.
"Last Thursday, as you are aware, the Plenipotentaries signed the TestAct in this room, and it was immediately communicated all over theworld. At sixteen o'clock His Honour received a message from a man namedDolgorovski--who is, it is understood, one of the Cardinals of theCatholic Church. This he claimed; and on inquiry it was found to be afact. His information confirmed what was already suspected--namely, thatthere was a man claiming to be Pope, who had created (so the phrase is)other cardinals, shortly after the destruction of Rome, subsequent towhich his own election took place in Jerusalem. It appears that thisPope, with a good deal of statesmanship, has chosen to keep his own nameand place of residence a secret from even his own followers, with theexception of the twelve cardinals; that he has done a great deal,through the instrumentality of one of his cardinals in particular, andthrough his new Order in general, towards the reorganisation of theCatholic Church; and that at this moment he is living, apart from theworld, in complete security.
"His Honour blames Himself that He did not do more than suspectsomething of the kind--misled, He thinks, by a belief that if there hadbeen a Pope, news would have been heard of it from other quarters, for,as is well known, the entire structure of the Christian Church restsupon him as upon a rock. Further, His Honour thinks inquiries shouldhave been made in the very place where now it is understood that thisPope is living.
"The man's name, gentlemen, is Franklin---"
Oliver started uncontrollably, but relapsed again to bright-eyedintelligence as for an instant the President glanced up from hismotionlessness.
"Franklin," repeated the secretary, "and he is living in Nazareth,where, it is said, the Founder of Christianity passed His youth.
"Now this, gentlemen, His Honour heard on Thursday in last week. Hecaused inquiries to be made, and on Friday morning received furtherintelligence from Dolgorovski that this Pope had summoned to Nazareth ameeting of his cardinals, and certain other officials, from all over theworld, to consider what steps should be taken in view of the new TestAct. This His Honour takes to show an extreme want of statesmanshipwhich seems hard to reconcile with his former action. These persons aresummoned by special messengers to meet on Saturday next, and will begintheir deliberations after some Christian ceremonies on the followingmorning.
"You wish, gentlemen, no doubt, to know Dolgorovski's motives in makingall this known. His Honour is satisfied that they are genuine. The manhas been losing belief in his religion; in fact, he has come to see thatthis religion is the supreme obstacle to the consolidation of the race.He has esteemed it his duty, therefore, to lay this information beforeHis Honour. It is interesting as an historical parallel to reflect thatthe same kind of incident marked the rise of Christianity as will mark,it is thought, its final extinction--namely, the informing on the partof one of the leaders of the place and method by which the principalpersonage may be best approached. It is also, surely, very significantthat the scene of the extinction of Christianity is identical with thatof its inauguration....
"Well, gentlemen, His Honour's proposal is as follows, carrying out theDeclaration to which you all acceded. It is that a force should proceedduring the night of Saturday next to Palestine, and on the Sundaymorning, when these men will be all gathered together, that this forceshould finish as swiftly and mercifully as possible the work to whichthe Powers have set their hands. So far, the comment of the Governmentswhich have been consulted has been unanimous, and there is little doubtthat the rest will be equally so. His Honour felt that He could not actin on grave a matter on His own responsibility; it is not merely local;it is a catholic administration of justice, and will have results widerthan it is safe minutely to prophesy.
"It is not necessary to enter into His Honour's reasons. They arealready well known to you; but before asking for your opinion, Hedesires me to indicate what He thinks, in the event of your approval,should be the method of action.
"Each Government, it is proposed, should take part in the final scene,for it is something of a symbolic action; and for this purpose it isthought well that each of the three Departments of the World shoulddepute volors, to the number of the constituting States, one hundred andtwenty-two all told, to set about the business. These volors should haveno common meeting-ground, otherwise the news will surely penetrate toNazareth, for it is understood that, this new Order of Christ Crucifiedhas a highly organised system of espionage. The rendezvous, then, shouldbe no other than Nazareth itself; and the time of meeting should be, itis thought, not later than nine o'clock according to Palestinereckoning. These details, however, can be decided and communicated assoon as a determination has been formed as regards the entire scheme.
"With respect to the exact method of carrying out the conclusion, HisHonour is inclined to think it will be more merciful to enter into nonegotiations with the persons concerned. An opportunity should be givento the inhabitants of the village to make their escape if they so desireit, and then, with the explosives that the force should carry, the endcan be practically instantaneous.
"For Himself, His Honour proposes to be there in person, and furtherthat the actual discharge should take place from His own car. It seemsbut suitable that the world which has done His Honour the goodness toelect Him to its Presidentship should act through His hands; and thiswould be at least some slight token of respect to a superstition which,however infamous, is yet the one and only force capable of withstandingthe true progress of man.
"His Honour promises you, gentlemen, that in the event of this planbeing carried out, we shall be no more troubled with Christianity.Already the moral effect of the Test Act has been prodigious. It isunderstood that, by tens of thousands, Catholics, numbering among themeven members of this new fanatical Religious Order, have been renouncingtheir follies even in these few days; and a final blow struck now at thevery heart and head of the Catholic Church, eliminating, as it would do,the actual body on which the entire organisation subsists, would renderits resurrection impossible. It is a well-known fac
t that, granted theextinction of the line of Popes, together with those necessary for itscontinuance, there could be no longer any question amongst even the mostignorant that the claim of Jesus had ceased to be either reasonable orpossible. Even the Order that has provided the sinews for this newmovement must cease to exist.
"Dolgorovski, of course, is the difficulty, for it is not certainlyknown whether one Cardinal would be considered sufficient for thepropagation of the line; and, although reluctantly, His Honour feelsbound to suggest that at the conclusion of the affair, Dolgorovski,also, who will not, of course, be with his fellows at Nazareth, shouldbe mercifully removed from even the danger of a relapse....
"His Honour, then, asks you, gentlemen, as briefly as possible, to stateyour views on the points of which I have had the privilege of speaking."
The quiet business-like voice ceased.
He had spoken throughout in the manner with which he had begun; his eyeshad been downcast throughout; his voice had been tranquil andrestrained. His deportment had been admirable.
There was an instant's silence, and all eyes settled steadily again uponthe motionless figure in black and scarlet and the ivory face.
Then Oliver stood up. His face was as white as paper; his eyes brightand dilated.
"Sir," he said, "I have no doubt that we are all of one mind. I need sayno more than that, so far as I am a representative of my colleagues, weassent to the proposal, and leave all details in your Honour's hands."
The President lifted his eyes, and ran them swiftly along the rigidfaces turned to him.
Then, in the breathless hush, he spoke for the first time in his strangevoice, now as passionless as a frozen river.
"Is there any other proposal?"
There was a murmur of assent as the men rose to their feet.
"Thank you, gentlemen," said the secretary.
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