85/147 It is true he had asked in grief and love, still he had asked. Partly because of the bitterness of it all, partly because of his long fast, he had not been able to eat his mid-day meal of beans and bread--he felt ready to faint, and his sight was troubled. He sank down on the decayed threshold of a small, closed door, at the entrance to the little lane called _della Corte_. A long peal of thunder sounded above his head. He thought of the man who was dying in the desire of Christ, and a wave of sweetness swept his soul. |