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the bells of san pasquale.
93
She managed so that they kept at a distance from
the others, because there was something she wanted
to tell him. And when they came to Porta Etnea,
she passed out through the gate, and they followed
the paths which steal along under the palm-groves of
Monte Chiaro.
They could not have walked on the crowded street.
Donna Micaela’s speech was such that the people of
Diamante would have stoned her had they heard her.
She asked Gaetano if he had ever seen the black
Madonna in the cathedral. She had not seen her
before yesterday. Perhaps the Madonna had placed
herself in such a dark corner of the dome in order
that no one might see her. Why, she was black and
had a black lattice in front of her. No one could
see her.
But to-day Donna Micaela had seen her. To-day
the Madonna had had a festival, and she had been
taken down from the niche. The floor and walls in
her chapel had been decorated with white almond
flowers, and she herself had stood on the altar, dark
and tall amid this display of flowers.
But when Donna Micaela saw the image, she fell
into despair. For that image represented no
Madonna. No, the one she had prayed to was no
Madonna ! O, what a shame ! It was only an old
goddess. He who had seen anything could not make a
mistake in this. She had no crown, but a helmet;
she had no child on her arm, but a shield. It was
Pallas Athene. It was no Madonna. O, no !
To think that one here in Diamante should
worship such an image. To think that one here should
set up such a blasphemy and worship it! Did he
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