Tossing and turning through a sleepless night, Father Franklin ponders "the madness that had seized upon the nations; the amazing stories that had poured in that day of the men in Paris, Who, raving like Bacchantes, had stripped themselves naked in the Place de la Concorde, and stabbed themselves to the heart, crying to thunders of applause that life was too enthralling to be endured... of the crucifixion of the Catholics that morning in the Pyrenees, and the apostasy of three bishops in Germany..." Heartsick, Father Franklin ponders how God can make no sign and speak no word.