Pagina 161 van 1118

When once in the street, and freed from this den of depravity,

the father breathed more freely; he hastened down the hill, pale

in countenance, and agitated and distressed by the scene he had

witnessed, and in which he had taken so leading a part. But the

unlooked-for proffer of the servant came like a cordial. It

seemed as if Heaven had sent a visible sign of its protection-a

clue to guide him in his intricate undertaking-and in the very

house where it was least likely to be found. Occupied with these

thoughts, he raised his eyes towards the west, and beheld the sun

declining behind the mountain, and felt that he had but a few

minutes in which to reach the monastery, without violating the

absolute law of the capuchins, that none of the brotherhood

should remain beyond the walls after sunset.