By this crucifix I pledge my faith, on this blade I devote my life, to the regeneration of Rome! And you (then no need for mask or mantle!), when the solitary trump is heard, when the solitary horseman is seen,--you, swear to rally round the standard of the Republic, and resist--with heart and hand, with life and soul, in defiance of death, and in hope of redemption--the arms of the oppressor!" "We swear--we swear!" exclaimed every voice: and, crowding toward cross and weapon, the tapers were obscured by the intervening throng, and Montreal could not perceive the ceremony, nor hear the muttered formula of the oath: but he could guess that the rite then common to conspiracies--and which required each conspirator to shed some drops of his own blood, in token that life itself was devoted to the enterprise--had not been omitted, when, the group again receding, the same figure as before had addressed the meeting, holding on high the bowl with both hands,--while from the left arm, which was bared, the blood weltered slowly, and trickled, drop by drop, upon the ground,--said, in a solemn voice and upturned eyes: "Amidst the ruins of thy temple, O Liberty! we, Romans, dedicate to thee this libation! We, befriended and inspired by no unreal and fabled idols, but by the Lord of Hosts, and Him who, descending to earth, appealed not to emperors and to princes, but to the fisherman and the peasant,--giving to the lowly and the poor the mission of Revelation." Then, turning suddenly to his companions, as his features, singularly varying in their character and expression, brightened, from solemn awe, into a martial and kindling enthusiasm, he cried aloud, "Death to the Tyranny! Life to the Republic!" The effect of the transition was startling.

Each man, as by an involuntary and irresistible impulse, laid his hand upon his sword, as he echoed the sentiment; some, indeed, drew forth their blades, as if for instant action.
"I have seen enow: they will break up anon," said Montreal to himself: "and I would rather face an army of thousands, than even half-a-dozen enthusiasts, so inflamed,--and I thus detected." And, with this thought, he dropped on the ground, and glided away, as, once again, through the still midnight air, broke upon his ear the muffled shout--"DEATH TO THE TYRANNY!--LIFE TO THE REPUBLIC!".