come of age. The rest either were blind, or so lame that they crawled about
on their hands, or had withered arms and hands without any fingers. Here
really was misery in rags.
“Eccelenza, miserabili!” they groaned, and stretched forth their crippled
limbs. The hostess herself went barefoot. With uncombed hair and an
unwashed blouse, she received her guests. The doors were hinged with
string; half of the bricks of the floors had been put to other use; bats flew
about the ceiling; and the smell-
“It were better to have supper in the stable,” one traveler maintained.
“There one at least knows what he is breathing.”
The windows were opened to let a little fresh air come inside, but swifter
than the air came those withered arms and that perpetual whine,
“Miserabili, eccellenza.” On the walls were many inscriptions, and half of
them had little good to say for la bella Italia.
Supper was served. Supper was a watery soup flavored with pepper and
rancid oil. This same oil was the better part of the salad. Dubious eggs and
roasted cockscombs were the best dishes, and even the wine was distasteful.
It was a frightful collation.
That night the trunks were piled against the door, and one of the travelers
mounted guard while the others slept. The student stood the first guard
mount. How close it was in there! The heat was overpowering, the gnats
droned and stabbed, and outside, the miserabili whined in their dreams.
“Traveling,” said the student, “would be all very well if one had no body.
Oh, if only the body could rest while the spirit flies on without it. Wherever
I go, there is some lack that I feel in my heart. There is always something
better than the present that I desire. Yes, something better-the best of all, but
what is it, and where shall I find it? Down deep in my heart, I know what I
want. I want to reach a happy goal, the happiest goal of all.”
As soon as the words were said, he found himself back in his home. Long
white curtains draped the windows, and in the middle of the floor a black
coffin stood. In this he lay, sleeping the quiet sleep of death. His wish was
