The Argosy — page 299: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

5 282 A Freak of Fortune. his custom when on an excursion, required to change his linen ; and the proud, supremely happy man had the felicity of standing guard at his own bed-room door whilst this ceremony was performed on the sacred person ; his linen for the occasion being produced from a bag in the care of one of the attendants who followed in the train. His Holiness now, partly for his own convenience, partly, per- haps, out of kind and condescending favour to a faithful daughter of the Church, and for the credit of the house, in order that time and opportunity should be given for its proper preparation, graciously in- timated to me that he would again rest at the villa, and in my apart- ment, on his return from Sopra Monte. : The pontifical carriages and horses were, therefore, drawn up in the spacious court-yard. The white palfrey used by Holy Father being brought into the inner court, his Holiness mounted, and, attended by the grand array of eminences, departed. The whole town literally flung itself upon its knees, and prostrated itself in the dust; whilst I, on my part, began to breathe. | IIT. But now it was necessary as quickly as possible to collect our senses and prepare for the second act, so to speak, of the drama. . We had no time to think about the town, which, as I have said, was wild with devotion and excitement, and onits knees : we had enough to think of and to do within doors. The thoughts of the stout and comely signora and her pretty daughter were, however, about their finery: those of Zuccone about the rinfresco which he wished to offer his Holiness. He now wrung his hands in an agony of despair because his best helper, he said, in the matter, his son Belisario; seized all at once with a hot enthusiasm for religion ; had hastily assumed his garb of sackcloth with its painted skull and cross-bones, as a Brother of the Purgatorio, and gone off with the whole fraternity, carrying the heavy crucifix in its socco, to attend his Holiness in the grand pro- cession to Sopra Monte. What now could be done to provide a suitable rinfresco ? : My ever ready Fritz, however, though still a little sore about his contretemps with the donkey, came to the rescue. Mounting into Zuccone’s carretta, he drove down to Frascati, with orders which I wrote, to bring back from the confectioner’s two men, with ices, biscuits, and every needful for the occasion, besides ordering fireworks and a fire-balloon for the evening. This being Zuccone’s especial idea, and his expression to the whole world of his delight to honour and his reverence for his great and remarkable guest. | The preparations for the reception of his Holiness at the villa fell entirely to me: neither Zuccone, his wife, nor daughter had any wits Gomicbooks. co