"The
gods you worship," said she, "are naught, and can do naught for
themselves or others; they are of wood or stone or metal." Clovis
resisted, saying: "It is by the command of our gods that all things are
created and brought forth. It is plain that your God hath no power;
there is no proof even that he is of the race of the gods." But Clotilde
prevailed; and she had her son baptized solemnly, hoping that the
striking nature of the ceremony might win to the faith the father whom
her words and prayers had been powerless to touch. The child soon died,
and Clovis bitterly reproached the Queen, saying: "Had the child been
dedicated to my gods he would be alive; he was baptized in the name of
your God, and he could not live." Clotilde defended her God and prayed.
She had a second son who was also baptized, and fell sick. "It cannot be
otherwise with him than with his brother," said Clovis; "baptized in the
name of your Christ, he is going to die." But the child was cured, and
lived; and Clovis was pacified and less incredulous of Christ.
An event then came to pass which affected him still more than the
sickness or cure of his children.
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