Their horses now could drink
in peace of the water stirred up and muddied by their mendicant
friends, whom they presently left behind them, without further heeding
their continued and vociferous appeals. One stout ragged fellow put
himself in their way, and displayed to their eyes a flaming picture,
painted on a board, depicting the torments of the souls in
purgatory. But the travelers were in a hurry, and unmoved at the
sight, left the souls in unmitigated tortures there.
"What we have just seen," said L'Isle to the ladies, "may convince you
that beggars are a formidable class in this country. They ramble
about, and infest every place, not entreating charity, but demanding
it. They often assemble at night in hordes, at the best country house
they can find, and taking up their abode in one of the out-buildings,
call for whatever they want, like travelers at an inn; and here they
claim the right of tarrying three days, if they like it. When a gang
of these sturdy fellows meets a traveler on the highway, he must offer
them money; and it sometimes happens that the amount of the offering
is not left to his own discretion. St. Anthony assails him on one
side, St.
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