("Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: thou shalt wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.") The drops sprang forth in every direction, and the whole bed was refreshed by them as if sprinkled with dew.

It rained upon her hands and upon her cheeks; but one by one the drops rolled away as if from insensible marble.

At last the Bishop turned towards the assistants and sprinkled them in their turn.

Hubert and Hubertine, kneeling side by side, in the full union of their perfect faith, bent humbly under the shower of this benediction.

Then Monseigneur blessed also the chamber, the furniture, the white walls in all their bare purity, and as he passed near the door he found himself before his son, who had fallen down on the threshold, and was sobbing violently, having covered his face with his burning hands.