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rome’s holy child
ii
And for every one of these that disappeared and
broke down in the struggle, the monks cried
" Hosanna! " and sang the Te Deum. And they
said : " It is on account of our prayers that the wicked
fall before they have time to ascend Capitolium."
It was a severe judgment upon the beautiful
monastery, that its monks never found peace. Their
nights were even more grievous than their days.
Then they saw wild beasts force their way into the
cells, and lie down beside them on their pallets.
And every wild beast was Antichrist. To some of the
monks he appeared like a dragon, to some like a
griffin, and to others like a sphinx. When they arose
from their dreams, they were weak as after a severe
illness.
The only comfort these poor monks possessed,
was the miracle-working image of Christ, preserved
in the basilica of Aracoeli. When a monk was in
despair from fright, he went into the church to seek
comfort. He walked through the whole basilica
and entered a chapel on one side of the chief altar.
There he lighted consecrated candles and repeated a
prayer, before opening the shrine which had a
double-locked iron-door and as long as he gazed at the
image he remained on his knees.
The image represented a little child in swaddling
clothes, with a gold crown on its head, gold shoes on
its feet, and the whole of the swaddling clothes
glittered with gems, gifts from needy ones who had
appealed to it for aid. And the walls in the chapel were
covered with pictures illustrating how it had rescued
in dangers of fire and sea, how it had healed the
sick and helped the unfortunate. On beholding this,
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