Volume I Part 20 (1/2)
”I quite agree with you, and I shall compliment His Holiness on the establishment”
”Oh! His Holiness knows all about it, he resided here before he becanor Caraffa had not been well acquainted with you, he would not have introduced you here”
Such is the use of barbers throughout Europe; but you must not put any questions to them, for, if you do, they are sure to threat you to an impudentthe that it was nor Caraffa, I desired to be taken to his apartave me a pleasant welcome, shewed me his library, and entrusted me to the care of one of his abbes, a man of parts, who acted as my cicerone every where
Twenty years afterwards, this sareat service to me in Rome, and, if still alive, he is a canon of St John Lateran
On the following day, I took the communion in the Santa-Casa The third day was entirely e the exterior of this truly wonderful sanctuary, and early the next day I resu except three paoli for the barber Halfway to Macerata, I overtook Brother Stephano walking on at a very slow rate He was delighted to see ain, and told me that he had left Ancona two hours after me, but that he never walkedquite satisfied to take two months for a journey which, even on foot, can easily be accomplished in a week ”I want,” he said, ”to reach Roood health I am in no hurry, and if you feel disposed to travel with me and in the same quiet way, Saint-Francis will not find it difficult to keep us both during the journey”
This lazy felloas aand healthy; a true peasant who had turned hi in idle comfort I answered that, as I was in a hurry to reach Ro companion
”I undertake to walk six miles, instead of three, today,” he said, ”if you will carry my cloak, which I find very heavy”
The proposal struck reat-coat, but, after the exchange, we cut such a cohed at us His cloak would truly have proved a load for a mule There were twelve pockets quite full, without taken into account a pocket behind, which he called 'il batticulo', and which contained alone twice as much as all the others Bread, wine, fresh and saltwas to be found in those pockets, which contained provisions enough for a fortnight
I told him hoell I had been treated in Loretto, and he assured ive me letters for all the hospitals on my road to Rome, and that everywhere I would have met with the same reception ”The hospitals,” he added, ”are all under the curse of Saint-Francis, because the mendicant friars are not adainst us, because they are too far apart from each other We prefer the homes of the persons attached to our order; these we find everywhere”
”Why do you not ask hospitality in the convents of your order?”
”I am not so foolish In the first place, I should not be aditive, I have not the written obedience which must be shown at every convent, and I should even run the risk of being thrown into prison; your monks are a cursed bad lot In the second place, I should not be half so comfortable in the convents as I am with our devout benefactors”
”Why and how are you a fugitive?”
He answered ht, the whole story being a tissue of absurdities and lies The fugitive Recollet friar was a fool, with soht that every reater fool than himself Yet with all his folly he was not went in a certain species of cunning His religious principles were singular As he did not wish to be taken for a bigoted h he would oftenexpressions
He had no taste whatever for women, and no inclination towards the pleasures of the flesh; but this was only owing to a deficiency in his natural temperament, and yet he claimed for hi appeared to him food for merriment, and when he had drunk rather too much, he would ask questions of such an indecent character that they would bring blushes on everybody's countenance Yet the brute would only laugh
As ere getting within one hundred yards from the house of the devout friend whom he intended to honour with his visit, he took back his heavy cloak On entering the house he gave his blessing to everybody, and everyone in the family came to kiss his hand The mistress of the house requested him to say mass for them, and the compliant monk asked to be taken to the vestry, but when I whispered in his ear,---
”Have you forgotten that we have already broken our fast to-day?” he answered, dryly,---
”Mind your own business”
I dared notthe mass I was indeed surprised, for I saw that he did not understand what he was doing I could not help being amused at his aardness, but I had not yet seen the best part of the comedy As soon as he had somehow or other finished hisin confession every member of the fahter of his hostess, a girl of twelve or thirteen, pretty and quite char her and threatening her with the torirl, overwhel bitterly, and I, feeling real sy aloud to Stephano that he was a irl to offer her my consolations, but she had disappeared, and could not be induced to join us at dinner This piece of extravagance on the part of the monk exasperatedinclination to thrash him In the presence of all the family I told him that he was an impostor, and the infaed hiive her absolution, but he closedvery coolly that he could not betray the secrets of the confessional I could eat nothing, and was fully determined to leave the scoundrel As we left the house I was compelled to accept one paolo as the price of the mock mass he had said I had to fulfil the sorry duty of his treasurer
Theto part coalleys if I continued h words; I called hiar I struck him a violent slap on the face, which he returned with a blow from his stick, but I quickly snatched it fro hi to Tolentino took ht have reached Foligno in a waggon, but unfortunately a wish for econoht I could easily walk as far as Valcimare, but I arrived there only after five hours of hard walking, and thoroughly beaten with fatigue I was strong and healthy, but a walk of five hours was one a league on foot Young people cannot practise too ood night's rest, and ready to resume my journey, I wanted to pay the innkeeper, but, alas! a new ine ottenseven sequins, on the table of the inn at Tolentino What a thunderbolt! I was in despair, but I gave up the idea of going back, as it was very doubtful whether I would find my money Yet it contained all I possessed, save a few copper coins I had in rieved at my loss, continued my journey towards Seraval I ithin threeover a ditch, I sprained my ankle, and was compelled to sit down on one side of the road, and to wait until someone should come to my assistance
In the course of an hour a peasant happened to pass with his donkey, and he agreed to carry me to Seraval for one paolo As I wanted to spend as little as possible, the peasant tookfelloho, for two paoli paid in advance, consented to give eon, but I did not obtain one until the followingI had a wretched supper, after which I lay down in a filthy bed I was in hope that sleep would bring ht of tor like banditti, ca a kind of slang which I could notno attention to ht, after which they threw theht for thereatly to usted at the idea of having such a fellow for my bed companion, I refused to let him come, but he answered, with fearful blasphemies, that all the devils in hell could not prevent hi possession of his own bed I was forced to make room for him, and exclaimed ”Heavens, where am I?” He told me that I was in the house of the most honest constable in all the papal states
Could I possibly have supposed that the peasant would have brought st those accursed enemies of humankind!