We are both of us men, and we know what men are. We all have our
wants, and our brains were given us to supply them.' "'Yes,' replied I, 'in a conscientious and legitimate manner, and not to
over-reach our fellow-men in the shortest and most unscrupulous way that
our petty interests may dictate, to the scandal of all good saints and
the blessed Madonna at their head.' "And here I launched out into a moral strain for at least an hour,
hoping to bring him round by dint of argument and persuasion to my view
of the case, but finding him at the end of that time still obdurate, and
in the same state of hardness of heart as before--for who can moralise
with such a heathen as Peppe?--I attempted to seize the ring by force,
intending to keep it until he should pay me the debt he owed me, but he
was before me, and a scuffle ensued, he declaring that he would not
suffer me to keep the ring in my possession, and I being equally firm in
refusing to let him keep it in his without first paying me my three
pauls. "He promised faithfully to pay me the debt when he should have changed
one of the pieces of money that fell to his lot; until then, however, I
remained firm in my resolution. Words had by this time led to blows, and
the conflict was getting desperate, when, it being now fairly morning,
we were interrupted by the sacristan entering the church to light the
candles on the altar. "Starting back in wonderment and terror at what he naturally believed to
be a miraculous resuscitation, it it was some time before he was
sufficiently calm to hear from me the true account of the case. "At length, recovering from his stupor, his eyes sparkled with an
avaricious light at the divided treasure on the ground, and his skinny
fingers opened and shut convulsively. Then gazing furtively over each
shoulder, he put his finger to his lip, winked, and whispered hoarsely,
'My friends, the secret of your newly-acquired wealth is as yet only
known to us three. I think you will find it to your interest that it
should not be known to more, as in that case it might come to the ears
of the arch-priest, who would be sure to deprive you of every penny of
it, in consideration of its being found in his church. Reflect well, my
friends; there is but one way to swear me to secrecy.' "'And that is?' asked I. "'To let me have an equal share of the treasure,' said he, impudently. 'What other way would you buy my silence?' "We both violently opposed this proposition, considering it no less than
an act of brigandage, and however Peppe and I might differ in opinion on
many subjects, we both agreed that this was a piece of extortion to
which we were not bound to submit. I said that I would sooner await the
decision of the arch-priest, which would perhaps, after all, not be such
as he--the sacristan--represented it, and Peppe swore that he would
knock his dastardly brains out in the middle of the church before he
would let him touch a _baiocco_. "'Think again, my friends,' said the sacristan, exchanging his customary
look of sanctity for one of deep cunning and malignity. 'Think again,
and decide quickly. In another minute the arch-priest will enter the
church to perform mass. All the inhabitants of the village will be
pouring in. There is no time to be lost. Either let me have a third of
the treasure, or I shall swear by all the saints to the arch-priest that
I caught _you_, Signor Antonio, in the act of robbing the alms-box, and
that the Madonna wrought a miracle before my very eyes by raising _you_,
Signor Guiseppe, from the dead in order to chastise the burglar for his
sacrilege.' "'He will not believe thee, thou imp of Satan!' roared Peppe. "'We shall see,' rejoined the sacristan, with a malicious chuckle, and
rubbing his hands. "At this moment the arch-priest entered, attired in his robes, and all
the congregation at his heels. "'Oh, Signor Arch-priest!' began the sacristan, in a loud voice, before
the assembled multitude, rolling up his eyes and crossing himself with
mock devotion, 'I have witnessed this morning a miracle with these very
eyes.' "'A miracle!' exclaimed the arch-priest and all the congregation in
chorus. "'Ay,' persisted the sacristan; 'a genuine, undeniable miracle. As I
entered the church this morning to light the candles on the altar, I
discovered this burglar (pointing to me) in the act of robbing the
alms-box. He had just succeeded in extracting all that treasure that you
see on the ground before you, and which was doubtless all of it placed
in the box by our blessed Lady's own hands for the use of her holy
church. For who else in our little village could have amassed such a
sum, or, having amassed it, would have been willing to put it all of a
heap within the alms-box? "'Well, Signor Arciprete, just as the sacrilegious knave was about to
count his unhallowed gains, lo! a miracle, such as these eyes never
before beheld, and may never see again before they close for ever in
peace.' "'Well, well,' said the arch-priest, impatiently. "'Well, Signor Arciprete mio, will you believe it? Yon image of our
blessed Lady suddenly raised its arm in a commanding attitude, and with
a voice of ineffable sweetness blended with severity cried out to yon
corpse, or, rather, that man, who _was_ a corpse only last night, as all
good people may recollect, "Corpse! arise and seize yon sacrilegious
ruffian by the scruff of the neck!" The words were no sooner out of the
blessed image's mouth, when up leapt the corpse from his bier, and
seizing the burglar with an iron grasp, continued to hold him until
vostra Reverenza entered the church!' "The arch-priest remained dumbfounded for a time, not knowing what to
say; but just as I was about to break silence and try to exculpate
myself, my voice was immediately drowned by the multitude crying out,
'Down with him! down with him! Down with the thief, the burglar, the
heathen! Let him not seek to exculpate himself with lies. Hear him not;
he is guilty of sacrilege! Down with the Protestant! Blessed be the holy
man who was raised from the dead and the good sacristan to whose eyes
the miracle was vouchsafed! Down with the Jew, the Protestant, the
heretic! _Away_ with the miscreant! away with him.' "I saw and heard no more. Hurried away, midst the hootings and
execrations of the crowd, I was flung into prison, where I have remained
ever since the morning." There was much in Antonio's story that moved me to laughter, though not
a smile appeared upon the face of the narrator himself throughout the
whole recital. There was an air of truth, too, about his manner that
left no doubt in my mind that he had retailed the facts of the case as
they had occurred without adding to or taking from them in the minutest
particular.