Francis while she
asks her Son to bless him, and the three saints and the Madonna of the
north transept, and the pictures at the entrance of the chapel of San
Martino, and the vault of the chapel of St. Louis, and a thousand other
lovely things.
And, "Signor Professore," I said eagerly, "how I should like to
translate that work, pictures and all, into English!"
He cordially consented, with many compliments.
As we left the loggia he pointed to the arch opposite the
entrance-door. "That is the arch of suicides," he said: "more than one
man has thrown himself down that precipice."
We were joined by a Benedictine monk as we went but, who proposed that
we should go up the campanile. It is pleasant to visit the bells of a
famous or favorite church. It is like seeing a poet whose songs we have
heard, and pleasanter in some respects; for while the poet may mantle
himself in commonplace at our approach, like Olympus in clouds, one can
always waken the spirit of song in these airy singers.
The way up this campanile is very rough, a mere gravelly path, and one
can only maintain his footing by holding a rope that runs all the way
up, following the four sides.
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