Part 26 (2/2)

To Ambrose, murder was murder, theft was theft, whether it was done by a Christian or a pagan, and the punishment was equally heavy for both

Perhaps the e lawyer, or perhaps he may have consulted with Probus, but in any case, in the year 372 Aovern the whole of North Italy, under the title of 'consul' At the uter, for the date of his birth is uncertain But his head was in no way turned by his position, and the e but tactless man, beheld with satisfaction that the restless people of Milan, the capital of the north, were growing daily quieter under the rule of Ambrose What his own severity had been powerless to accoh without any difficulty

The parties, religious as well as political, into which the city was split up, all carievances, and, wonderful to say, never murmured at his verdicts Before he had been consul much more than a year, Milan was in a quieter state than it had been for half a century

But the death of the bishop early in 374 threatened to plunge everything into the old confusion Valentinian was consulted, but refused to have anything to do in the matter of the election of a new prelate; it was not his business, he said So the bishops streaallery of one of the large round churches that were built in those days In great excitement the people pressed in below; so ed For hours and hours they waited, and every now and then a h the crowd that the announcement was about to be made; but it died away as fast as it caain

At last the strain grew too great, and it was quite plain that the sreat fire

A man wiser than the rest saw this, and hastened to summon Ambrose to the spot

'Do not delay an instant,' he cried, 'or it will be too late Only you can keep the peace, so come at once'

[Illustration: 'Do not delay an instant,' he cried, 'or it will be too late']

A What his friend said was true, and, besides, he was as a istrate bound if possible to prevent a riot, or, if one had already begun, to quell it

The loud, angry voices ceased as he entered the church, and aed the crowd to be patient yet a little while longer, and to remember that the choice of a bishop was one that affected them all, and could not be an to grow less, and by the tiain Then the voice of a child rang through the church

'Ambrose, bishop!'

'Ambrose, bishop,' echoed the people, but Ambrose stood for ahe had expected or wished, but the continued cries brought hi the church he went to the hall where he gave his judght up to the door

Never before or since has any man been so suddenly lifted into a position for which he had h a Christian, in common with many of his friends and also with his brother, he had never even been baptized, still less had he studied any of the things a bishop ought to know Oh! it was impossible

It was only a otten as soon as he was out of sight; so he stole away at night and hid hi to escape to another city But on his way he was recognised by a man who had once pleaded a cause before him A crowd speedily collected, and he was carried by the people back to his house within the walls, and a guard placed before it, while a letter was despatched to the e him that the lot had fallen upon Ambrose

'Vox populi, vox Dei' ('The voice of the people is the voice of God')

Valentinian gave a sigh of surprise and relief as he read the wax tablets before hined by hi Ambrose bishop of Milan, while to A that no better choice could have beenBut by the tiain, and was hiding in the house of a friend outside the walls However, this effort to avoid the greatness thrust upon him was as vain as the rest, and he saw that he ht him Within a week he had been baptized, ordained priest, and consecrated bishop, knowing as little as any ht of the studies hitherto considered necessary for his position But it is quite possible that his ignorance of theseout of his duties

Now very often, if a e too, and the very qualities which caused hiround, while others, far less suitable, take their place No doubt, during the first days after his election Ambrose must have been watched carefully by many eyes--for no one, however popular, is wholly without enemies--and any alteration in his conduct or way of life would have been noted down Still, even the most envious could find no difference Ambrose the bishop was in all respects the saave away more reater degree at the disposal of the people

In these days we are so used to reading of the struggle which raged for so many centuries between the Church and the State--the Emperor and the Pope--that it seems quite natural to us that after the death of the emperor Valentinian (which happened a few months later) the bishop should beco son Gratian To Ambrose, however, the situation was beset with difficulties, and both disagreeable and dangerous He had not the least desire to meddle in the affairs of the eh for any oneeuidance it was his duty to give it Soon reorse and worse The Goths crossed the Danube, and defeated the army of the Eastern Empire near Adrianople; Byzantium, or Constantinople, the city of Constantine, lay at their ary and the Tyrol, or by sea froh the first of the nued to escape across the Alps Every daypeople arrived, and the city was taxed to the utmost to find them food and shelter Yet even the lot of these poor creatures was happy in comparison with those who had been taken prisoners by the Goths, and were doomed to spend their lives in slavery unless they were ranso all thepossible had been raised the unredeeolden vessels of the church, which were the pride of Milan, and these the bishop brought out and ht be freed

In after-years his eneainst hiive as not his own, they said; but Ambrose paid little heed to their words; he had done what he kneas just, and the rest did not eneral Theodosius as ean to understand that they had a strong man to deal with, and Aistrate in his own diocese, and to give constant advice to the well- that Ahest value, and his experience ofstories The cleverest rogues in Milan knew that thetale would never deceive the bishop, and would only earn for themselves a heavy fine or imprisonment 'Some,' he writes, 'say they have debts; make sure that they speak truly Others declare they have been robbed by brigands; let them prove their words, and show that the injuries were really received by therew scarce

During these years the bishop's life, except for public anxieties, had been calm and happy, for his brother Satyrus had been with hith important business took the elder brother to Africa, and on his return the shi+p in which he was sailing struck on a rock and sank Luckily, they were not far froreat exertions he ed to reach a lonely part of the coast He was kindly cared for by the people, but there was noA before another shi+p passed that way Then, when his friends had abandoned all hope, he suddenly appeared in Milan, to the speechless joy of the bishop But not long were they left together In a little while Satyrus fell ill, and in spite of the constant care that was given hi Ambrose more lonely than before

After this troubles crowded thick and fast on the bishop Gratian, whom he had loved as a son, was treacherously iven by Gratian himself rule over the prefecture of Gaul with the title of erief of Ambrose was deep; but besides he was forced to act for Gratian's half-brother Valentinian, whose mother Justina never failed to send for the bishop to help her out of her difficulties, and directly he had s smooth, proceeded to fall back into them

Thankful indeed was he when she and her son set out for Thessalonica, to put themselves under the protection of Theodosius