And when the hour foreseen by this great saint, in which death was to
place his cold hand on the brow of Cataldus, was at hand, the couch
of the dying was again blessed by his spirit; but Alvira did not on
this occasion see him, but she saw the recognition that cast a beam
of joy over the face of the dying man, and she heard the sweet accents
of consolation the saint was permitted to impart.
Chapter XXVIII.
A Vision of Purgatory--A Dear One Saved.
Like lengthening shadows of evening creeping over the silent ruin, death
was fast drawing the shades of its final night over the austerities
and the virtues of Alvira. The promises of St. Francis filled her
heart with a cup of joy that rarely falls to the lot of mortals this
side of the grave.
Vespers are finished at the Gesu; the organ is silent, the crowd have
departed, and, in the mellow twilight of an autumn eve, we discern
only a few pious souls crouched behind the pillars, or pouring forth
their last fervent aspirations before some favorite altar or saintly
shrine. Soon all have left, and the silence of the abandoned sanctuary
shrouds the fabric in greater solemnity. The aromatic incense still
floats in nebulous veils around the tabernacle.
A loud breathing, an expression of joy from a dark recess, announced
the presence of some one still in the church. The sounds came from
the quarter known to the pious frequenters of the church as Magdalen's
corner, so named because there was near to it an altar dedicated to
the great penitent St.
Pages:
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140