DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.53553#0300
266
sery. For at the very time I am now speaking- of, when the
rage of the mountain had continued for three days, and
when, for oufrht we know, it might have lasted three weeks
longer, and perhaps destroyed the whole city; the Cardinal
Archbishop Sersale, together with the whole chapter of the
cathedra], and innumerable ecclesiastics from the different
convents, sallied forth in humble and devout procession from
the city towards the mountain, carrying the head of our St.
Januarius before them. Now mark what I am going to
tell you, for I was an eye-witness of the fact. No sooner
had they got to the bridge of St. Magdalen, and within sight
of the mountain, than a tremendous report was heard from it,
louder than if a hundred thousand cannon had been let off
at the same time: the shower of hot sand and the eruption
instantly ceased; the sky, which had before been utter
darkness, became perfectly clear; and, in the evening, the
stars, for the first time after three nights, appeared with
their usual brightness. Thus, sir, did the infinite goodness
of our illustrious protector intercede for his people, and in
the hour of trial, obtain divine mercy for us. You are a
young man, Signor Don Luigi, your troubles may have to
come yet: let this, therefore, be a lesson to you, not to de-
spair in misfortunes, but to put your trust in the goodness
and mercy of our heavenly Creator, and he will not aban-
don you.”
A piece of advice of such excellent morality from the lips
of this nonagenarian, left a more forcible impression on my
mind, than any sermon of regular pulpit delivery could have
produced.—What does it signify in what trappings such
pure doctrine is dressed up, so its ultimate tendency be vir-
tue and benevolence?—I observed to my Mentor, that I was
no longer surprised at finding a man of his righteous prin-
ciples blessed with so great an age, attended with such
good health. “ May be you are not mistaken, Signor Don
Luigi.”
sery. For at the very time I am now speaking- of, when the
rage of the mountain had continued for three days, and
when, for oufrht we know, it might have lasted three weeks
longer, and perhaps destroyed the whole city; the Cardinal
Archbishop Sersale, together with the whole chapter of the
cathedra], and innumerable ecclesiastics from the different
convents, sallied forth in humble and devout procession from
the city towards the mountain, carrying the head of our St.
Januarius before them. Now mark what I am going to
tell you, for I was an eye-witness of the fact. No sooner
had they got to the bridge of St. Magdalen, and within sight
of the mountain, than a tremendous report was heard from it,
louder than if a hundred thousand cannon had been let off
at the same time: the shower of hot sand and the eruption
instantly ceased; the sky, which had before been utter
darkness, became perfectly clear; and, in the evening, the
stars, for the first time after three nights, appeared with
their usual brightness. Thus, sir, did the infinite goodness
of our illustrious protector intercede for his people, and in
the hour of trial, obtain divine mercy for us. You are a
young man, Signor Don Luigi, your troubles may have to
come yet: let this, therefore, be a lesson to you, not to de-
spair in misfortunes, but to put your trust in the goodness
and mercy of our heavenly Creator, and he will not aban-
don you.”
A piece of advice of such excellent morality from the lips
of this nonagenarian, left a more forcible impression on my
mind, than any sermon of regular pulpit delivery could have
produced.—What does it signify in what trappings such
pure doctrine is dressed up, so its ultimate tendency be vir-
tue and benevolence?—I observed to my Mentor, that I was
no longer surprised at finding a man of his righteous prin-
ciples blessed with so great an age, attended with such
good health. “ May be you are not mistaken, Signor Don
Luigi.”