Note: Translator Pauline Bancroft Flach died in 1966, less than 70 years ago. Therefore, this work is protected by copyright, restricting your legal rights to reproduce it. However, you are welcome to view it on screen, as you do now. Read more about copyright.
Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - First book - VII. The Bells of San Pasquale
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has been proofread at least once.
(diff)
(history)
Denna sida har korrekturlästs minst en gång.
(skillnad)
(historik)
IOO THE MIRACLES OF AJVTICHRIST
mountain. It is quite small and poor, but the white
walls and the red roof stand beautifully embedded
in a grove of almond-trees.
Therefore, as soon as the almond-trees bloom in
the spring, San Pasquale’s church becomes the most
beautiful in Diamante. For the blossoming branches
arch over it, thickly covered with white, glistening
flowers, like the most gorgeous garment.
San Pasquale’s church is very miserable and
deserted, because no service can be held there. For
when the Garibaldists, who freed Sicily, came to
Diamante, they camped in San Pasquale’s church
and in the Franciscan monastery beside it. And in
the church itself they stabled brute beasts, and led
such a wild life with women and with gambling
that ever since it has been considered unhallowed
and unclean, and has never been opened for divine
service from that time.
Therefore it is only when the almond-trees are in
bloom that strangers and fine people pay attention
to San Pasquale. For although the whole of the
slopes of Etna are white then with almond-blossoms,
still the biggest and the most luxuriant trees stand
about the old, condemned church.
But the poor people of Diamante come to San
Pasquale the whole year round. For although the
church is always closed, people go there to get
advice from the saint. There is an image of him
under a big stone canopy just by the entrance, and
people come to ask him about the future. No one
can foretell the future better than San Pasquale.
Now it happened that the very morning when
Gaetano left Diamante the clouds had come rolling
down from Etna, as thick as if they had been dust
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
