The Catholic reader will know that this Pardon can be obtained only
from vespers of the first to vespers of the second day of August, and
that while in every other church communion is a necessary condition, it
is sufficient to merely pass through the chapel of the Porziuncola, for
which St. Francis obtained the indulgence from Pope Honorius.
There is a large fair in connection with this festa--merchandise of all
sorts in the piazza and corso, and a cattle-fair in the upper part of
the town. The long white road stretching from Asisi to Santa Maria
degli Angeli in the plain was quite black with _contadini_ coming up
with their goods in the early dawn, and a sound of hoofs and of many
feet told that the procession was passing the house. There were carts
full of produce, men leading white and dove-colored cattle, and women
with large round baskets on their heads. These baskets contained live
fowl. In one a large melancholy turkey meditated on his approaching
fate: in another, two of lighter disposition swung their long necks
about and viewed the scene. One of these baskets was as pretty as the
blackbird pie of famous memory. In it sat eight chickens of an age to
make their debut on the platter, all settled into a fluffy, soft-gray
cushion, out of which their little heads and necks and half-raised
wings peeped and turned and fluttered in a manner that testified to the
agitation of their spirits.
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