Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - Roman Traditions of Peter and Paul - 6. Lord, whither goest Thou?
<< 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 never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
268 ROMAN DA YS.
Great. In the most ancient annals, this church is called
Titulusfascicles, in remembrance of the bandage, {fascia)
the apostle Peter lost here. The martyrs after whom it
was afterwards called, are not buried here, but in the sub-
terranean chapel of Flavia Domitilla, which was discovered
on the Ardeatine Way, and which was in course of ex-
cavation, when the author of these lines was in Rome.
When Peter had at last gotten outside the city walls,
he slackened his pace. The rain had stopped, the driv-
ing clouds collected in the East ; and from the cleared
portion of the sky, a faint starlight glimmered upon the
tombs that on both sides bordered the Appian Way.
He had accomplished about twelve minutes’ walk
from the city, when he thought he perceived a strange
light, moving along the road, and slowly approaching
him.
It was not like the light of torch or lantern. It had
its own radiance, that might be compared to full star-
light, to the sheen of the Milky Way in a northern sky
;
and it formed a half-ring, like the glory around a hal-
lowed head.
Peter stopped, in surprise.
As the glory drew nearer, it ever lost its brightness
,
but more and more plainly, the outlines of a human
form grew visible, that was going on the way to the
city.
The form, which was clad in a mantle, walked on the
side of the road opposite that on which Peter stood, and
seemed to stride past, without having noticed him.
But when the unknown had taken a few steps farther,
he turned. Peter, whose eyes could not stir from the ob-
ject before him, recognized the movement. Thus had
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
