who are most upright in the eyes of the world. At the moment when he is about to appear before God, this sinner makes his confession; he wishes to make a full reparation, as he is bound to do, of all the injury which he has caused his neighbour, but he has not the time left to do so himself, and is not willing to reveal the sad secret to his children. What does he do? He covers his restitution under the veil of a pious legacy.
Now, if this legacy is not paid, and consequently the injustice not repaired, what will become of the soul of the deceased? Will it be detained for an indefinite length of time in Purgatory? We know not ail the laws of Divine Justice, but numerous apparitions serve to give us some idea of them, since they " all declare that they cannot be admitted into eternal beatitude so long as any part of the debt of Justice remains to be cancelled." Moreover, are not these souls culpable for having deferred until their death the payment of a debt of Justice which they had owed for so long a time? And if now their heirs neglect to discharge it for them, is it not a deplorable consequence of their own sin, of their own guilty delay? It is through their fault that these ill-gotten goods remain in the family, and they will not cease to cry out against them as long as restitution be not made. Res clamat domino, property cries out for its lawful owner; it cries out against its unjust possessor. (See Note 13.)
If, through the malice of the heirs, restitution is never made, it is evident that that soul cannot remain in Purgatory for ever; but in this case a long delay to his entrance into Heaven seems to be a fitting chastisement for an act of injustice, which the soul has retracted, it is true, but which still abides in its efficacious cause. Let us therefore think of these grave consequences when we allow days, weeks, months, and perhaps even years, to elapse before discharging so sacred a debt.
Alas! how feeble is our faith! If a domestic animal,
