Ursus breathed afresh.

A sharp onslaught now took place.  AEacus, the medical delegate, who had disdainfully protected Ursus against the theologian, now turned suddenly from auxiliary into assailant.  He placed his closed fist on his bundle of papers, which was large and heavy.  Ursus received this apostrophe full in the breast,—­

“It is proved that crystal is sublimated ice, and that the diamond is sublimated crystal.  It is averred that ice becomes crystal in a thousand years, and crystal diamond in a thousand ages.  You have denied this.”

“Nay,” replied Ursus, with sadness, “I only said that in a thousand years ice had time to melt, and that a thousand ages were difficult to count.”

The examination went on; questions and answers clashed like swords.

“You have denied that plants can talk.”

“Not at all.  But to do so they must grow under a gibbet.”

“Do you own that the mandragora cries?”

“No; but it sings.”

“You have denied that the fourth finger of the left hand has a cordial virtue.”

“I only said that to sneeze to the left was a bad sign.”

“You have spoken rashly and disrespectfully of the phoenix.”

“Learned judge, I merely said that when he wrote that the brain of the phoenix was a delicate morsel, but that it produced headache, Plutarch was a little out of his reckoning, inasmuch as the phoenix never existed.”

“A detestable speech!  The cinnamalker which makes its nest with sticks of cinnamon, the rhintacus that Parysatis used in the manufacture of his poisons, the manucodiatas which is the bird of paradise, and the semenda, which has a threefold beak, have been mistaken for the phoenix; but the phoenix has existed.”

“I do not deny it.”

“You are a stupid ass.”

“I desire to be thought no better.”

“You have confessed that the elder tree cures the quinsy, but you added that it was not because it has in its root a fairy excrescence.”

“I said it was because Judas hung himself on an elder tree.”

“A plausible opinion,” growled the theologian, glad to strike his little blow at AEacus.

Arrogance repulsed soon turns to anger.  AEacus was enraged.

“Wandering mountebank! you wander as much in mind as with your feet.  Your tendencies are out of the way and suspicious.  You approach the bounds of sorcery.  You have dealings with unknown animals.  You speak to the populace of things that exist but for you alone, and the nature of which is unknown, such as the hoemorrhoues.”

“The hoemorrhoues is a viper which was seen by Tremellius.”

This repartee produced a certain disorder in the irritated science of Doctor AEacus.

Ursus added, “The existence of the hoemorrhoues is quite as true as that of the odoriferous hyena, and of the civet described by Castellus.”

AEacus got out of the difficulty by charging home.