Accordingly, the Loreto police sought the offender, but, in
the compartment where he had travelled, found no person; there,
however, lay a letter couched in these terms: "He who was in this
waggon under the guise of a humble friar, has now ascended into the
arms of his _Santissima Madre Maria_. He wished to make known to the
world how easy it is for him to crush the pride of unbelievers, or
to reward those who respect religion."
Nothing more was discoverable; wherefore the learned of the Church
--_i dotti della chiesa_--came to the conclusion that under the
guise of a friar there had actually appeared "_N. S. G. C._" The
Supreme Pontiff and his prelates had not yet delivered a judgment in
the matter, but there could be no sort of doubt that they would
pronounce the authenticity of the miracle. With a general assurance
that the good Christian will be saved and the unrepentant will be
damned, this remarkable little pamphlet came to an end. Much
verbiage I have omitted, but the translation, as far as it goes, is
literal. Doubtless many a humble Tarentine spelt it through that
evening, with boundless wonder, and thought such an intervention of
Providence worthy of being talked about, until the next stabbing
case in his street provided a more interesting topic.
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