Shortridge came down, a
cheerful blaze had brought out more fully the desolation of the room
in dispelling half its gloom.
"I trust you have found a habitable chamber over head," said L'Isle to
Lady Mabel.
"I were a heretic to complain," she answered. "It is true the room has
no window; but it has a square hole in the wall to let in the light
and let out the foul air. The bed is hard and not over tidy. But what
is wanting in cleanliness is made up in holiness; for the bedstead has
an elaborate crucifix carved at its head, and I shall sleep under its
immediate protection. On the slightest alarm, by merely throwing my
arms upward, I can lay hold on the cross, and nothing will be wanting
to the sense of security but faith in this material symbol of my
faith. I shall have saintly company, too. On the wall to the right is
a print of St. Christopher carrying the infant Christ over a river,
and a bishop, in full canonicals, waiting on the other side, with
outstretched arms, to receive him; on the left, is a picture of
St. Antony, of Padua, preaching to the fishes. Religion is truly part
and parcel of this people's every day life; and the reality of their
devotion, and the falsehood and frivolity of many of its objects, make
a contrast truly painful to me.
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